


Talking Through a Different Face

by tebtosca



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-27
Updated: 2011-07-27
Packaged: 2017-10-21 19:57:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/229144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tebtosca/pseuds/tebtosca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Author: tebtosca<br/>Artist: reliand<br/>Pairing: Jared/Jensen, Misha/Gen, Chris/Danneel, past Jared/Sandy<br/>Rating: NC-17<br/>Word Count: ~34,000<br/>Warnings: minor character death</p><p>Summary: When single dad Jared Padalecki is recruited under desperate circumstances to become the “normal” face of a house full of misfits (including a vampire, a voodoo priestess, a man who has modified his body to look like a jungle cat, and an all-too-naked Misha Collins) he unwittingly enters a world where magic exists. He thinks his greatest problem is figuring out his surprising attraction to Jensen “Totally Not a Warlock” Ackles, but when his suddenly super-powered six-year-old daughter goes missing, he needs to learn to trust his newfound family to get her back before anyone else is harmed.</p><p>Written for spn_J2_bigbang</p>
            </blockquote>





	Talking Through a Different Face

**  
Prologue   
**

Jared raises his eyebrows slowly as he sits on the tan microfiber loveseat and takes in the row of people sitting on the matching sofa across from him.

The tiny brunette with the long straight hair who keeps absently dragging her tongue across her incisors.

The gorgeous redhead wearing a modified turban and a slight smirk that makes him think she knows something he most definitely does not.

The stocky guy with the face completely tattooed to look like some kind of large cat.

The guy with the freckles. And the expectant green eyes. And the plush mouth.

Holy fuck _, plush mouth?_ Where did that come from?

Jared swallows.

Then suddenly there is a smiling, naked guy walking into the room and Jared is flying towards the door before Plush Mouth can finish hissing “Misha, goddammit!”

He has no idea how the fuck his life has led him to, well, here.

 

 **++++++**

Jared Padalecki  is having a really shitty year. In fact, “shitty” is probably the greatest understatement in the history of understatements, but thinking in emotional hyperbole is not going to help anyone.

He stares down at his phone and contemplates whether having someone to listen to him hyperventilate is worth listening to Chad’s latest get-rich scheme. He realizes that the fact that Chad Michael Murray is number one on his speed dial is making his overwhelmingly dramatic current depression (fuck it, hyperbole it is) even worse, but his finger is poised to press the call button anyway.

Jared’s life started out pretty boring. He lived in the suburbs of San Antonio, played baseball and then later basketball when he shot up five inches practically overnight, and knew that one day he would work with animals, preferably large dogs with floppy ears and big needy eyes. He minded his own business, kept his grades up, and had a small circle of good friends. Boring, typical, _normal._

Then at the start of his senior year of high school he met Sandy, who changed his life and led him to where he is now.

Sandy McCoy was an enigma. One moment she would be sitting there under the big oak tree outside of the cafeteria, her smile as bright as the hot Texas sun. Her face would be open and beautiful and it made Jared kind of ache somewhere deep down inside of himself. Then the next day he would catch her staring off into the distance, dark eyes clouding over and looking like the weight of the world was on her slim shoulders. It was moments like that when Jared wished he was special enough to understand someone like her.

Her father’s company had transferred him to their San Antonio location but she was a native New Yorker (ok, Queens, but that totally counts). This somehow made her so much more worldly and elegant to a gawky Texas boy, and he was entranced before he could stop himself. It wasn’t the curvy little body or shiny brown hair that drew him in, since he never really thought that much about girls (and never bothered to figure out why that was). She had a gravitational pull to her and he was sucked into her orbit without demonstrating even token resistance.

They dated almost chastely for most of the year until, in the most clichéd way possible, they lost their virginity to each other on prom night. Jared can remember how her hair smelled like papaya when he pressed his face into her neck. Even her shampoo was exotic. It’s odd that it’s that small, insignificant fact that stands out so much in his mind, even beyond the feel of her hands clasping his biceps or the first surprised grunt she made when he first pushed into her. The scent of somewhere different in his nostrils as he closed his eyes and imagined a world just a little more magical than his own.

The night of their graduation, she sat him down on his extra long bed with the Dallas Cowboy sheets and kissed him lightly on the mouth before telling him that not only was she pregnant, but that her father was getting transferred back to the New York office and she was going with them to have the baby. He managed to mumble something about defective condoms as she smiled sadly and placed her tiny hand in his huge one. She told him that it was okay, that she would figure it out herself, and that she didn’t want to ruin his life with her “problem.” His nice, normal life.

She said “problem” like she was talking about getting a C on her math test, not about the mass of cells in her belly that was half of him. Half of his messy brown hair and dimples and height-induced clumsiness and the guffaw that came from deep inside his stomach. Half of his shyness and compassion and loyalty and newfound ability to love someone more than he thought possible.  That last part wasn’t really about her, though she didn’t need to know that.

He asked her to marry him at the same moment he asked her to take him with her. His eyes added the “please” and she nodded silently before calling her parents to let them know.

Katherine Padalecki was born eight months later in a hospital in Forest Hills. Even papaya shampoo wasn’t as magical as that moment.

Sandy died six years later. They told Jared it was a brain aneurysm but it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that he read Kat an extra story that night and tucked her into bed with a kiss on one dimpled cheek. She looked up at him and for one quickly flashing moment she looked at him with the same sad, knowing eyes that Sandy had when Jared was just another dumb seventeen-year-old looking to replace reality with a fantasy.

He had stopped looking for that a long time ago.

Now it’s six months after her death and everything is quickly falling apart. Without Sandy’s paralegal salary, his meager paycheck from the vet’s office barely covers their expenses. The McCoys had been helping a little but then that morning he received a call from the lawyer that Sandy had worked with who had been helping him out with his legal issues. In a complete about-face from their normal attitude, the McCoys decided to sue Jared for custody of his daughter, claiming he couldn’t support her properly. To top off the (second) worst day of his life, his landlord knocked on his door twelve minutes before his finger hovered over speed dial one and told him that he was two months past due and had two weeks to vacate the premises.

Jared presses the button and prepares himself mentally for his best friend.

“Dude!” Chad answers. Chad never says “hello” because he thinks it’s redundant.

“I’m so fucked,” Jared groans, even though Chad’s voice is somehow inexplicably soothing to him.

“Well if you wanted to be, there’s this chick….”

“Inappropriate segue, Chad.”

“C’mon, Jaybird, I kid, I kid.” His voice gets serious suddenly. “You okay, man?”

Jared closes his eyes and contemplates the question. “I don’t know what to do.”

Chad is silent a moment before launching back into his normal persona. “Dude, come on. It can’t possibly be as bad as what’s already happened, right? I mean, how much more could life suck, amirite?”

Jared wonders why the hell Chad is his best (only) friend. “The McCoys are suing me for custody of Kat and the landlord is kicking us out because I haven’t paid the rent in two months.”

“Oh. Yeah, that does suck.”

Jared rubs a hand over his face. He will _not_ cry on the phone with Chad, of all people.  “Yeah, it sure does.”

“You know I would let you move in with me…” Chad lives in his mom’s basement.

“I know, man, thanks. It’s just hitting me all at once. I mean, why would they do this to me? They’ve always been so great to us and now….I just don’t understand, that’s all.”

“Did they say why?” Chad asks lightly.

Jared pauses, the answer sticking in his throat. “They say I can’t support Kat. What… What if they’re right, Chad?”

“Stop that, Jay. Don’t even think that way. We’re gonna figure this shit out,” Chad insists firmly, and Jared suddenly remembers why Chad’s his best friend.

Jared exhales the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Okay, let’s figure it out.”

“That’s the spirit, my man! First things first, you need a place to live.”

Jared groans again. “Oh god, how am I going to find a place that takes not only kids, but dogs too?”

Chad snorts. “Don’t you mean, big slobbering droolmeisters?”

“No, Chad, I mean, dogs,” Jared laughs for the first time that day.

“HOLY SHIT DUDE, I’VE GOT IT!”

“Oh no, I don’t like that tone of voice. That is the ‘wouldn’t it be cool to make Kat sell lemonade on Queens Boulevard’ tone of voice. That voice scares me, Chad.”

Chad makes a rude, dismissive sound. “Kat would have sold so much lemonade on that corner.”

“Do you think they call it the ‘Boulevard of Death’ in a rhetorical manner?”

“Rhetorical, schmetorical, listen to my fantastic idea that is totally going to save your scrawny ass.”

“Why are you looking at my ass, Chad?”

  
“You _wish_ I was looking at your ass, dude.”

“Yes, Chad, on top of everything else going on in my life I want my best friend to start lusting after me.”

“Damn right, I’m your best friend.”

Jared stops and smirks. Asshole.

Chad ignores his own tangent and barrels on. “So, anyway, back to important shit. I was in this tattoo shop…”

  
“Of course you were.”

“….and I was talking to the dude who owns it about investing in my new marketing venture: people tattooing ads on their faces. In fact, you’re desperate and could definitely fit something on your forehead—“

“If you finish that thought I might have to kill you.”

“Then they would send you to Rikers and I wouldn’t be the only one lusting after your ass.”

“Good point. What does the tattoo shop have to do with my current dire living situation?”

“I was getting to that, jeez, stop interrupting me!” Chad says with exasperation. “The owner dude, Chris, had this flyer up looking for a roommate. I mean, it was kinda crazy, the flyer I mean, not the dude, although the dude is a little, erm, well, he’s totally cool, trust me.”

“Oh god.”

“Hear me out, Jesus Christ on a cracker! Anyway, Chris says they are looking for someone ‘normal’ to live with them. I’m not sure what that means, but seriously, this guy is totally awesome and you are totally desperate.”

“What the hell does ‘normal’ mean?” Jared asks slowly.

“ _You._ You are normal. Like, stupid normal. Like so normal that it makes my eyeballs hurt to stare at you too long. I mean you are fucking perfect for this shit, man,” Chad crows, and Jared can practically feel the triumph in his voice.

“Are you staring at my ass, or just in my general vicinity?”

“You are such a shithead. I swear, I’m handing you your golden ticket right here. And Kat will love this dude.”

Jared’s  voice is suddenly wary. “Why do you say that?”

Chad starts laughing, and Jared joins in, a little hysterically, because his life is a fucking comedy of errors. “Because his entire face is tattooed like some wild jungle cat.”

Jared laughs so hard he starts choking.

“Jaybird, you okay? Don’t die on me here.”

Jared manages to get himself under control, but barely. “Chad, you want me to take my SIX YEAR OLD daughter to live with a man who made himself look like a cat?”

“And his wacky roommates. Which includes his girlfriend, who I think is a voodoo priestess. So, yes.”

Jared is so flabbergasted that he can’t make his vocal cords vibrate enough to speak.

Chad’s voice is serious and soft again. “Jared, just talk to the guy, okay? He supposedly has some huge house out in the suburbs in Long Island. A huge backyard for the droolmeisters, good school district for Kat.  I know it sounds kind of weird, but it can’t hurt to check it out.”

“Chad,” Jared starts. His voice aches with sadness. “I’m scared.”

Chad lets him have the moment. “It’s just a jungle cat and some voodoo dolls. Nothing to be scared of, Jay.”

Jared laughs again, breathes deep, decides. “Okay, give me his number.”

 **++++++**

Jensen doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. When he talked to the possible roommate candidate the day before on the phone, the lazy drawl underneath the wariness reminded him of his childhood. The guy, Jared, seemed perfect, even when he was obviously trying to convince himself (and Jensen) that he wasn’t. When he said he had a kid and two huge dogs it almost made Jensen fistbump himself (awkward), instead of turning him off like Jared was intending.

What the hell is more ridiculously normal and domestic  than some cute kid and a pair of dogs? Okay, maybe not enough to negate the rest of the… _eccentricities_ of the house, but it would work for their purposes.  Of course he is the only one that seems to care about their little group keeping a low profile and hiding behind a would-be spokesman.

Ok, not hiding. Chris would call it hiding, but what does he know? Hard to hide when your face is full of ink and metal. Jensen is a realist. He understands that the world is in black and white, even if he and his roommates know that they live in swirls of red and blue and orange. How wrong can it be to want to protect the people who have become his surrogate family? If it takes getting some nice boring guy and his cute kid to prop up like a cardboard cutout in front of them, then where is the harm? The guy gets a great house (and Danneel’s amazing gumbo) and they get some respectability. It’s just starting over again that sucks.

If only stupid Tom hadn’t bailed.

Jensen grits his teeth and pulls the fourth clean shirt out of his closet. 

It’s Saturday afternoon and the guy is going to be there in less than twenty minutes, so Jensen goes into Misha’s room to attempt to intimidate him into getting ready for the interview. Misha  owns the house they all live in and never actually leaves it. He owns the largest online holistic vitamin company in the northeast  and is what can be termed “independently wealthy.” Not that he spends any of that money on clothing.

“Ah, Young Ackles,” Misha smiles in greeting, swiveling around in his desk chair and holding out his arms like he’s expecting a hug.

Jensen frowns at Misha’s penis. Not that Misha’s penis itself bothers him. Lord knows, he has seen Misha’s penis enough times by now that he barely notices that it’s attached. But Misha had promised him he would put away his penis for Jared.

“You’re still naked, Misha.”

Misha cocks an eyebrow and speaks slowly like Jensen is a deaf _and_ ESL preschooler. “I’m a naturist, Jensen. My nudity is my power. My power is my nudity.”

“You’re a naked agoraphobic, Misha.”

Misha nods. “Your words are harsh yet your tone is loving. You confuse me, my dear warlock.”

“I’m not a warlock.”

“Perhaps not in this realm, Young Ackles.”

Jensen stares at him and Misha just leans in closer until his hairy knee is scratching Jensen’s denim clad one. He gives it four more seconds before giving up. He’s never won a staring contest with Misha Collins in the entire seven years he’s known him.

“Just put on something when Jared is here, okay? Your balls will not protest a half hour without oxygen.”

“Do your warlock powers talk about my balls often?”

“I’m leaving the room now.”

“My balls are powerful, I see.”

“I’m totally gone. Can’t see you anymore. Definitely can’t hear you.”

Jensen shuts Misha’s door with a sigh and heads downstairs to the kitchen, where Genevieve is standing at the fridge drinking something that is definitely not milk out of a plastic jug.

“You know our electricity bill goes way up when you leave the door open like that,” he says, hiding his grin as she rolls her eyes.

“I’ll let Misha have an extra turn on top this month to make it up to him,” Gen smirks, licking the red liquid off her fingers as she replaces the jug and shuts the door.

“The new guy will be here in a few minutes. No biting,” Jensen insists, dropping his voice an octave in an attempt at sternness.

“Oh come on, I only did that once. Not my fault Tom couldn’t take a joke.”

“Gen!”

“Yeah, yeah, no biting, got it. I’m gonna go carefully blow my boyfriend. Call me when he’s here.”

She waves her fingers at him primly and heads upstairs to the powerful ball-filled room he just vacated.

Long delicate arms squeeze him suddenly from behind and he twists to see Danneel.

“You’re going to be good, right?” he asks her, tone vaguely pitiful.

She smiles innocently and bats her eyelashes. “No pins in his face, then?”

“Not even one,” he answers, and can’t help but laugh. “Why are you wearing a turban at home? I thought that was just for your paying customers.”

  
“Bad hair day,” Danneel grins wide and releases him, sauntering out of the room as quietly as she entered it.

The doorbell rings then and Jensen takes a deep breath before heading to answer it.

The man on the other side of the door is so ridiculously gorgeous that Jensen has to stare at him for a moment. Okay, maybe many moments. A few too many moments.

“Hey, I’m Jared,” the ridiculous man says in that same drawl and looks a little confused at the staring. He hesitantly reaches out his hand.

Jensen shakes himself out of it and takes his hand firmly. “Jensen, pleased to meet you. Come on in.”

Jared smiles, and it’s all dimples and sunshine and rainbows and other shit that makes Jensen remember just how very gay he is. He turns away from the glare coming off of Jared’s face and hurriedly leads him to the living room.

Jared looks around in what Jensen assumes is supposed to be a subtle manner, but doesn’t seem overtly nervous any more once he sees how beige everything is. Jensen motions towards the loveseat and Jared sinks his long, delicious body into it with only momentary hesitation.

Danneel is the first one to come in and Jensen is thankful, if only because she’s not naked, tattooed, or drinking blood. Yes, she’s wearing what looks like a metallic robe and a turban, but the smile on her beautiful face is bright and a few bouncy red curls are escaping to hang half way down her shoulders.

“You must be Jared!” she says, saying his name like they are old friends. He attempts to stand up to greet her, but she pushes him back down and rubs her knuckles against his cheeks in lieu of shaking his hand.

“That’s me. And you are?” Jensen notices Jared’s swallowing a lot. Hmmm, Jared swallowing…..

Jensen bites down on the inside of his cheek. “Jared, this is Danneel.  Danni, where’s Chris?”

  
She points a thumb back towards the stairs as Chris Kane appears suddenly in the room.  Jared’s eyes go comically wide as he takes in the sheer multitude of Chris’ tattoos and piercings. Jensen’s known him so long he doesn’t notice them anymore (like Misha’s penis) but he knows that to someone that doesn’t know him, Chris looks rather conspicuous.

Jared does stand up then and Jensen notices again that he’s quite possibly ten feet tall. He stifles a giggle as Chris looks up—way up—to shake his hand.

“You’re Chad’s friend, huh?” Chris grins, pulling Danneel down next to him on the couch and snuggling her into his side.

“Oh god, don’t hold that against me,” Jared chuckles, sitting back down and seeming to relax a bit.

Gen slinks in a minute later, full lips even more bee-stung than usual and, goddamn, Jensen wishes he didn’t know why they were like that. They curve up into a smirk as she glances at Jensen and hisses a bit. When he winces, she starts laughing and she turns to offer her hand to Jared.

“Why hello, Jared. I’m Genevieve. How lovely to make your acquaintance,” she says innocently and Jensen swears she curtsies just to piss him off.  Reaction accomplished, she throws herself down on the couch next to Danneel and gives her a quick nibble on the neck just to make her giggle.

“Gen, is Misha coming down?” Jensen asks, not knowing if he really wants the answer.

“Well he was definitely coming,” she nods as Chris snorts and Danneel covers her mouth with her hand.

Jared is looking at them all blankly and Jensen feels his perfectly normal and epically hot hopefully future-roommate slipping through the cracks with their stupid-ass antics.

“So Jared, tell us a little about yourself,” Jensen throws out, sitting on the arm of the couch and attempting to look confident and inviting.

Jared swallows again (he really has to stop that because, come _on_ ) and shakes his head a little bit. “Well, like I told you on the phone, I have a six-year-old daughter named Kat. She’s a good kid though, doesn’t cause any trouble.”

Danneel squeals a bit and Chris cocks an eyebrow at her.

“I’m a vet tech and I really love it, although it doesn’t pay that much. I love animals, so it’s a great job for me. Helping them makes me feel good, you know,” Jared says and it’s almost shy. Jensen wants to leap onto his lap and lick the flush right off his face.

“My wife…” Jared pauses. “Well, my wife died about six months ago and it’s been difficult to manage some stuff financially. Our house is too expensive with just me working, so that’s why I’m looking for something else.”

Jensen notices that his friends are looking at Jared a little more softly. Even Gen stops smirking for a minute and Danneel looks like she’s ready to cook him soup and knit him socks. The moment is getting a little uncomfortable, so he fills the silence.

“Well, okay, I’m really sorry about your wife, Jared. It must be hard for your daughter, too. Maybe a house full of people will help her feel a little better, right?”

Jared looks wary but just shrugs. “What about you guys? What do you do?”

“I’m a vamp—“ Gen starts, grunting as Jensen leans over to elbow her in the ribs. “I mean I work in a blood bank.”

“Oh,” Jared says slowly, looking between the two of them with a perplexed expression.

“I own my own tattoo shop, as you probably know,” Chris breaks in, thankfully. “As for the“ --he waves at his face and torso-- “I’m a modern primitive.”

Danneel starts her own introduction before Jared can attempt to figure out what Chris is talking about. “I work with Chris in his shop, doing piercings and acupuncture.”

She smiles up at Jensen, knowing that sounded almost legitimate and would please him. She leaves out the part about pretending to conjure the spirits of her ancestors to read people's fortunes in the back room of the shop. Jensen returns her grin and then glares at Gen again, who just rolls her eyes.

 _This isn’t going too badly_ , Jensen thinks, and is about to launch into his own intro when Misha walks into the living room.

Completely naked.

“Misha, goddammit!” Jensen hisses and his face falls when he sees Jared running for the front door as fast as those beautiful long legs will take him.

 

 **++++++**

 

The first reason that Jared stops right before opening the front door in a blind panic is the fact that he had called or visited seven different apartments the day before this one. Three of them didn’t take dogs, which was non-negotiable. Two of them ended up being brokers with fees higher than his monthly salary. One of them was next to a bodega where a man offered to sell him crack for a twenty. The last one was situated over a Chinese takeout joint and looked so sketchy that Roscoe the bedbug-sniffing dog would have run out of there with a “Hell, naw!” Jared made sure to keep his body parts from touching anything as he exited that one.

The second reason is the hand currently holding his forearm.

Jared looks at Jensen’s hand, wondering why it feels warm when the house itself is highly air-conditioned. Wonders why he feels what could be classified only as a “tingle” running up to his shoulder. Wonders why he suddenly feels utterly and completely calm.

“I’m sorry about Misha,” Jensen (Plush Mouth) says, his voice low and eyes vaguely pleading. “He’s a really great guy when you get to know him. We all are.”

Jared bites his lower lip and stares down at the hand again. “Why is he naked?”

Jensen rubs his thumb over Jared’s elbow and Jared can feel himself flushing. “He’s what’s called a ‘naturist.’ One with nature and his body and all that.”

Jared manages to bring himself back to something that is supposed to be more important than the way Jensen’s light touch is making him dizzy. “I have a six-year-old daughter, Jensen. I can’t live with some guy that’s going to be naked all the time.”

Jensen smiles encouragingly and keeps stroking. “I promise we can work something out if we decide that living together is the best option. Nothing is a deal breaker, okay?”

Jared nods against his better judgment and follows Jensen back into the living room. A still-naked Misha is sitting on a recliner next to the couch.

“That’s Misha’s chair. I suggest you stay off that one,” Jensen whispers with a chuckle and Jared sinks back into the loveseat before his mind can process that too fully.

“I’m Misha Collins. You must be the infamously normal Jared. I’m sorry if the sight of my penis scared you. It doesn’t know it’s own strength,” Misha says with a blissed out smile and a slight hand wave. Jared wonders if he’s stoned or just naturally like that.

Jared has no idea where he’s supposed to be looking, so he chooses the clock over the mantel. “I wouldn’t say scared so much as startled behind comprehension.”

Misha chuckles. “I like this one, Jensen. Can we keep him?”

Jared pulls his eyes away from the clock to look at Jensen, who is sighing unhappily. “Misha, would you mind covering up for a bit? So Jared doesn’t have to keep looking at that dumb clock.”

Damn, Jared thought he was being subtle.

“Cover up? Oh, of course. Gen?” Misha bats his big blue eyes at the girl with the teeth that keeps hissing at Jensen.

She smiles brightly and goes over to plop herself down on his lap.

“There, is that better? Gen’s wee body is completely covering my genitalia,” Misha grins, wrapping his arms around what Jared assumes is his girlfriend. Unless all the roommates do this. Jared’s pretty sure that “sitting on Misha’s naked lap” is going to be a deal breaker on his end, no matter how soothing Jensen’s hand is.

Jensen ignores him and turns back to Jared. “So, that’s Misha. He owns the house so we have to put up with him. But he’s super easy to ignore when you get the hang of it.”

“Like magic, huh Jensen?”  Misha’s voice is suddenly low and sly.

Jensen looks at Misha and Jared can’t figure out the expression. It makes him a little uneasy and he figures he might as well start asking questions if he’s going to get through this. “So, Chad said you were looking for someone normal. I admit I’m a little confused at what that means.”

“Let’s just say that we like to have someone that can help be the liaison with the neighborhood. It’s a great place to live but the community board can be, well, a little conservative,” Jensen explains. His voice is steady but Jared notices his hand is drumming nervously against his thigh.

Jared’s confused. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, but you look pretty normal to me, Jensen. Why can’t you be the liaison or whatever?”

Chris snorts again and Jared wonders if that’s the only sound he’s capable of making.

“Jensen’s a witch,” Gen announces, hand caressing Misha’s neck.

Jared blinks.

“Not a witch, darling, Jensen’s a warlock,” Misha corrects, petting her back.

Jensen looks like fire is going to come out of his ears like the chick from “Clue.”

“I’m not a warlock, Misha.”

“He’s totally not a warlock,” Danneel throws in helpfully.

“Ok, then what exactly are you?” Jared asks slowly, completely flummoxed by the turn in the conversation.

“I’m, well.” Jensen pauses, like he’s trying to think of the least crazy thing he can think of. “I’m a pagan.”

Jared’s shoulders relax a bit more. Pagan. Okay. He can deal with that. I mean, it’s not like he’s going to offer Kat up as a human sacrifice, right?

“You’re not going to offer my daughter up as a human sacrifice, are you?”

The words are out of his mouth before he can contain them. Shit.

Jensen looks like he wants to sink into the floor and die and the other four roommates are clutching themselves in laughter.

“Human sacrifices are only on Wednesdays, Jared. Just send your daughter to a friend’s house on those days, “ Misha offers, grinning like the fucking Cheshire Cat.

“OK, I deserved that one. Sorry,” Jared huffs sheepishly. He looks up at Jensen, who is bright red. He didn’t mean to make him feel bad and, Jesus, he doesn’t even understand why he cares about the guy enough to worry about hurting his feelings. “I’m sorry, Jensen. That was very intolerant of me to say.”

Jensen’s still red, but Jared thinks it’s more out of embarrassment than mortification now so it’s not quite as bad. “It’s okay, Jared. I know we’re kind of a lot to take in all at one time.”

Jared sweeps his eyes across the others and laughs sharply. “You could say that. It still doesn’t mean I should be a dick about it.”

That answer seems to please Jensen and that makes Jared content deep down in a way that he definitely doesn’t want to acknowledge. “So, did you have someone, um, normal before this? Or is this a new development?”

“Tom,” Danneel says, shaking her head sadly.

“Tom was so normal,” Chris nods.

“Like, corn-fed,” Danneel adds.

“So much corn,” Gen agrees.

“To the point that he could sweeten the entire cereal industry all by himself for years to come,” Misha contributes wisely.

“What happened to Tom?” Jared inquires, strangely curious about this mysterious full-of-corn normal person that preceded him. And god, he’s already acting like he’s ready to move in and replace him and, no, he isn’t going to think about that right now.

“Tom didn’t want to be normal,” Danneel replies.

“Tom hated being normal,” Chris corrects.

“Tom convinced himself he was an alien,” Gen throws in.

“Tom was not an alien,” Misha adds, and he sounds sad about it.

“But we couldn’t convince Tom that not being an alien was okay,” Danneel says wistfully.

“So he decided to go look for where his pod landed,” Chris hugs her a bit in comfort.

“In Canada,” Gen rolls her eyes, like Tom’s an idiot for thinking pods land in Canada.

“He got mad at Jensen because he wouldn’t shave his head,” Misha throws out and Jared looks at Jensen, who is rubbing the back of his neck furiously.

Jensen sighs and answers the question Jared is asking without actually saying anything. “Tom said that all super- villains have shaved heads and that any good alien needs a super villain to play off of. I refused to be that super- villain because I actually really like my hair and he took off to find his destiny or pod or something. “

Jared takes in all of this information and then finally nods. “Hmmm.”

“Are you freaked out? You’re totally freaked out, aren’t you?” Jensen groans, and looks stricken.

Jared has to laugh. “No, actually, I was just going to comment that you people talk in one big, overlapping run-on sentence. Like we’re on the school bus singing a round of Row Row Row Your Boat.”

“I never had a school bus,” Gen sighs mournfully and Misha hugs her tight to his bare chest.

For some reason that makes Jared laugh even harder and before he knows it tears are streaming down his face. It becomes infectious and within seconds everyone else is laughing hysterically as well.

A few minutes later Jared takes a deep breath and stops laughing, the others following suit immediately. They sit and stare at each other in anticipatory silence.

“So,” Jared starts. The five roommates all look at him eagerly. “There would need to be a few ground rules for this to work. On both sides, of course.”

Jensen smiles at him, green eyes crinkling, and it makes Jared’s heart beat a little faster. He remembers the feel of those fingers on his arm and grows warmer.

“Ground rules, got it.”

“This involves my penis, doesn’t it?” Misha determines sadly, as Gen bounces a little bit in solidarity.

“I’m sorry, Misha. No penises around my kid is definitely a ground rule,” Jared nods, and for some reason he feels strangely apologetic.

“Think of how fun it’ll be to dress up for a change!” Danneel offers, winking at Misha, who is still sighing.

“Ok, another ground rule. No touching my milk jugs,” Gen warns.

Jared’s eyebrows shoot up. “Please tell me that’s not a euphemism for…”

Misha clutches her possessively. “Well yes, that too, but she means literally her milk jugs. In the fridge. Red liquid, please don’t ask.”

Jared nods. “Got it, don’t touch the red stuff. Anything else?”

“Stay out of the room with the swing,” Chris adds and Jared doesn’t even want to know.

“No touching my dolls,” Danneel throws out and Jared definitely doesn’t want to know.

Jensen gets up then before anyone can spill anything else, and shakes Jared’s hand firmly. He feels the tingle again and _goddamn_. “I think this is going to be perfect for all of us, Jared, I really do. How about you bring your daughter over tomorrow to see the house and meet everyone? “

Jared nods and says a silent prayer of forgiveness to Sandy for what he might be exposing their daughter to. “I’ll bring her by tomorrow, if that’s okay with y’all.”

Jensen bites his lip as Jared’s accent slips and Jared finds himself wanting to sing bad country western songs just to make him keep doing it.

Misha hops out of his chair then and pushes between them. He clasps Jared’s shoulder and Jared chants “Don’t look down, don’t look down,” as a silent mantra as he smiles back at the man. “If the little sprite is half as confused and adorable as her daddy I’m sure we’ll all get along fantastically.”

Jared barks out a laugh. “Nah, confused and adorable is my specialty. She’s more wise and adorable.”

“Sounds like my kind of kid then,” Misha grins and Jared returns it. He doesn’t know why but he’s not completely petrified anymore. He thinks that should scare him more than it does, but he’s just desperate enough to ignore the warning signs.

 

 **++++++**

 _She’s just a child. How scary can she be?_ Jensen thinks to himself as he opens up the door and stares down at six-year-old Katherine Padalecki.

Big, dark brown eyes blink up at him inquisitively. She twirls one strand of chestnut hair around her finger and slowly starts gnawing on her lip. Jensen blinks back at her.

“Kat, this is Jensen. Say ‘hi’ sweetheart,” Jared nudges her gently.

“Hi Jensen,” the kid says to him, her voice soft and sweet and vaguely unsure. She pauses and Jensen waits for her to continue. “Can I call you Jenny?”

Jared flinches and looks at him apologetically but Jensen just smiles. “Only if I can call you Miss Kitty.”

Kat bursts into a full-fledged make-the-sun-look-like-a-60-watt-lightbulb dimpled Padalecki grin and Jensen breathes a little bit easier. He will not be defeated by a grade-schooler.

He ushers them quickly into the house but they don’t get more than ten feet before Chris appears in the hallway, his bright smile contrasting with the swirl of ink covering his entire face.

Kat is standing stock still, frozen tight with her back against Jared’s legs. Jensen gives a silent _aww shit_ as he watches the flicker of emotions on Jared’s face.  He knows this is the first test and if Kat is in any way terrified of the modern primitive standing in front of her Jared will be out of there faster than he can heave a “See ya!”

Chris’ face retains its serenity, however, and his voice is low when he speaks. “You must be Kat. I’m Chris. It’s really nice to finally meet you.”

Jensen can hear Jared swallowing again, and he watches the man put his big hand on his little girl’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. _This is it_ , Jensen thinks. _Everything is going to get fucked up and the kid is gonna run screaming away and that big beautiful hunk of normal is never going to be seen again._

Kat starts twitching then and Jared looks like a caged animal searching desperately for an escape route. Jensen gnaws on his lip and frantically tries to think of something to say. _What’s a little terror, huh Jared? I mean, every kid needs a boogeyman, right? Good for the soul!_

Okay, so that’s not really going to work. Fuck.

Suddenly Kat releases a high pitched squeal that could only come from the depths of a six-year-old girl’s soul and flings herself bodily at Chris. His reflexes are as good as a cat ( _ugh, I did not just think that_ , Jensen groans) and he has her up against his chest and snuggled in his arms before Jared can pull his mouth back up from where it dropped to the floor.

Kat is touching Chris’ face like she just found God, as reverent as a little kid can possibly be. Her eyes are wide in wonderment as Chris’ mouth curls up into a smile and makes the little metal spike implants that serve as whiskers poke her fingertips. She uses her thumbs to brush the transdermal implants that ridge above his brows, as gently as if she was caressing a newborn.

“Does it hurt?” she whispers, and it’s almost too low for Jensen to hear it.

“Nah.  It feels like part of me,” Chris replies, voice soothing, still smiling. “Do you like it?”

Kat nods so forcefully she almost knocks herself out of his arms. Chris laughs and holds her tight.

“She loves cats,” Jared explains, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head helplessly. “She’s the only little girl I know who sleeps in Thundercats pajamas.”

“Hey, watch your tone! I sleep in Thundercats pajamas too,” Jensen grins and his entire body feels like it’s on fire when Jared grins back at him.

After a moment Jensen clears his throat. Kat is still clutching Chris like a symbiotic twin. “Uh, hey Kat, don’t you want to meet everyone else? See the rest of the house?”

Chris puts her down and she looks like she’s about to go into mourning. “Hey, Kat, you want to come meet my girlfriend, Danni? Maybe she’ll let you wear her turban.”

Kat looks interested, probably because it’s Chris who made the suggestion. “What’s a turban?”

“Something to put on when you don’t want to wash your hair,” Chris replies and Kat nods, completely content with that answer. With a dismissive wave back at her father, she takes off up the stairs with Chris.

“Well,” Jared says, a little stunned as he watches his kid being led off by a walking-talking-snorting jungle cat.

“Well,” Jensen echoes.

“That went well.”

“Yeah, that really did.”

They look at each other then and burst into laughter.

The easy, relaxed slope of Jared’s shoulders makes Jensen grin so hard his eye crinkles threaten to burst right off his face. He shakes his head a little to settle himself. He has no idea why Jared is affecting him so much. He’s obviously gorgeous and Jensen is sexually attracted to him like _whoa_ , but there are lots of hot guys in the world. Tom, for example, was almost as tall as Jared with black hair and blue eyes and hey-ya-want-a-blowjob-lips but Jensen had never looked at him and felt like his skin was going to peel off.  Jensen was born to feel things, in the most literal of ways. When his fingertips hit flesh it’s like a tiny slow burning current flickering through his skin and muscle and bone, going right through him to the center of his brain. He has known half his life that he was born with the power (curse?) to feel more than any person should and yet Jared is the first person in a long time (ever?) to make him want to feel even _more_.

Jensen’s mental soliloquy must have gone on longer than he thought because Jared is staring at him a little peculiarly. It looks like equal parts curiosity and interest, and Jensen tries to keep himself from acknowledging something slightly darker than what would usually be normal for two guys who barely know each other standing silently in the middle of a hallway.

“So!” Jared starts, and the look is gone. “She’s totally fine with Chris, right?”

Jensen touches Jared’s forearm and luxuriates in Jared’s minute but definitely there psychical reaction before pulling away. “Absolutely. Especially with Danni up there with them. She’ll probably try and buy Kat off of you within the month.”

Jared laughs and then looks at him strangely again. “It sounds like you think this roommate thing is going to work out. That we’ve already decided.”

Jensen feels his heartbeat speed up a bit. “Of course I do. You need a bit more awesomeness in your life, Jared. Kat too. And how are you ever going to top the sheer amount of awesome in this house?”

Jared lets out a low whistle. “I don’t know, man. I do have Chad Michael Murray in my life. It’s a little hard to beat that epic.”

Jensen laughs gleefully. “I don’t even know the guy yet but from what Chris tells me I don’t think I have anything to worry about in the epic department.”

“Don’t let The Chad hear you say that or he might try to squint you to death,” Jared attempts seriousness but makes it about three seconds before laughing as well.

“Hey, want to go check out the backyard? See if it’s good enough for the dogs?” Jensen offers, gesturing towards the back of the first floor.

“Yeah, man, that’s a great idea, lead the way,” Jared nods.

It’s the end of August and the New York humidity rushes into the house as Jensen slides back the glass door leading to their large backyard. He sees Jared fanning himself with one giant hand in his peripheral vision and he can’t pretend to himself that half the reason to show Jared the backyard wasn’t to see the man sweat.

 _God holy shit fuck_ , Jensen curses with a swoon as he watches sweat start immediately beading on Jared’s collarbone. He’s wearing a V-neck t-shirt and there’s that tantalizing open stretch of skin right there that Jensen wants to lick and bite and mark. He imagines pressing his face right into the V, breathing in Jared’s scent, feeling his sweat drip against his tongue.

Jensen groans imperceptibly and wills himself to stop having fucking porno daydreams about his poor hopefully soon-to-be roommate. He’s going to have to start meditating with Misha if this shit doesn’t stop. Wait. Hmm. Thinking about Misha doing yoga naked immediately tampers down all sexual thoughts in his head. Who knew?

Jared, meanwhile, is staring out at the expanse of the yard. They have all the trappings of Long Island suburbia: swimming pool, barbeque area, small modified basketball court, lots of green grass and open air. The illusion of boring, simple normalcy. Jared looks impressed and Jensen finds himself pleased again, just from Jared being happy.

“Jensen, this is fantastic! We’ll have to keep Harley from jumping in the pool because he’s the dumb one, but both he and Sadie can swim so it’s no big deal. And a basketball court! Do you play? I used to play in high school but….”Jared trails off and his smiles quirks down into a frown. “Well, high school was a long time ago.”

Jensen feels a desperate need to see the dimples again and shoots for manly competitive spirit as a tactic. “That just means you’re rusty, man! You might be tall but I bet I’m quicker than you.”

“Oh you do, do you?” Jared cocks his head, eyebrow lifting in challenge. “I bet I can have you on your ass in three minutes.”

Jensen tries to stifle a moan at the mention of Jared doing anything to his ass, and takes off running towards the basketball court. “Put your ball where your mouth is, Padalecki!”

 _Oh, that wasn’t any better. Damn._

Jared just laughs and runs after him, grabbing the basketball that Jensen has retrieved and thrown at him. He’s pulling off his shirt and throwing it aside before Jensen can process that and uses it as a distraction to get off his first shot.

 _Cheater!_

Twenty minutes later they are still playing and Jensen has somehow managed to keep up with the giant man-child. At the very least he’s only been dunked on twice, so that’s something to keep his manly ego from breaking too irrevocably.

“Jared! Jensen!” Danneel’s voice comes shouting over to them and they turn to see her and Chris waving them back inside. Jared throws down the basketball instantly and is pulling his shirt over his drenched chest as he runs back to them.

“What happened? Where’s Kat?” Jared demands, suddenly frantic.

“It’s okay, son, calm down,” Chris starts, holding out his hands in what Jensen guesses is supposed to be a soothing manner.

“Where’s my kid?” Jared grits his teeth, a vein straining in his neck, which is bright red from sun and exertion.

“She’s around here somewhere, I’m sure. The house isn’t that big,” Danneel insists, but her eyes flicker to Jensen and then Chris and back again, avoiding Jared.

“What happened?” Jensen asks calmly, trying to touch Jared to calm him down, but he flings Jensen’s hand off of him. Jensen admits somewhere deep down that it stings.

“Nothing happened. I told Kat to make herself at home and then we turned our backs for a second and she, well, she took off. Maybe she’s playing hide and seek or something, I don’t know, son. I don’t know anything about kids,” Chris sighs and Jared looks at Jensen with an incredulous expression. Jensen turns away from it quickly because he knows he was the one who vouched for Chris. Jared had trusted him and right now it’s looking like that trust was misplaced.

“We already searched a lot of the house. It looks like she got into the, uh, swing room,” Danneel says, eyes widening just enough for Jensen to notice.

Jared’s staring at Jensen, his eyes demanding an explanation.

“It’s the attic,” Jensen explains, and Jared looks mortified. Jensen turns back to Chris and Danneel. “Did anything look misplaced?”

“Well, there was definitely some touching of the swing,” Chris says and he doesn’t look entirely happy about it.

“And my dolls. The dolls were definitely moved,” Danneel adds, squeezing her hands and pressing them to her hips.

Jared looks torn now that the realization that Kat has been getting into exactly what the roommates warned him about seems to hit him. Flickers of guilt wash over his face and he looks suddenly unsure.

“I’m sorry about that,” he apologizes, but his voice still has the glint of steel in it that it had before. “But right now I just want my kid.”

The all nod and head back into the house. A noise coming from the kitchen startles them and they run into the spacious room. Sure enough, Kat is standing at the open refrigerator, one of Gen’s plastic milk jugs clutched in both her hands. She freezes when everyone rushes in, not knowing whether or not she’s in trouble.

“Can I have some Kool-Aid?” she asks, her voice whispery, as she holds up the jug.

“Katherine Padalecki!” Jared yells running over to her and grabbing the jug of red liquid. He sets it back on the counter with a thump and then bundles her into his sweaty grasp, squeezing her in a way that has to be moderately painful.

“I’m sorry, Daddy, I didn’t mean to run off! Chris said I should make myself at home and I wanted to see everything and there was this ladder and then this swing and these dolls and everything was so shiny but then I got really thirsty and Uncle Chad always goes right to the fridge to get a drink because he says that he’s making himself at home and that’s what Chris said so I didn’t think he would mind but now you’re mad at me and we won’t get to live in this wonderful house and Chris won’t be my best friend anymore and Harley and Sadie won’t have somewhere to run around and please Daddy don’t hate me!” Kat starts sobbing pitifully, her long-winded explanation draining her completely as she slumps in Jared’s arms.

“Oh god, Kit-Kat, I could never hate you, my baby girl, I love you so much! You just worried me, that’s all! You can’t run off like that without telling anyone, especially in a new place. What if you got hurt?” Jared tries his best to soothe her, but she’s shaking hard and suddenly Jensen is struck with the thought that this little girl just lost her mother six months ago. Her entire world is being flipped upside down and he has no idea how she hasn’t broken yet.

“Hey, Jared,” Jensen starts slowly, keeping his voice pitched low. “Do you mind if I talk to Kat for a minute?”

Jared turns to look at him, a confused look on his face. But then suddenly it smoothes out and he nods, putting Kat down and backing up a foot to let Jensen kneel down beside her.

“Hey Kat,” Jensen whispers, putting his hand gently against the side of her head. Her tears dissipate almost instantly and he hears Jared gasp.

Electricity flows through Jensen’s veins where he’s connected to the little girl and it startles him for a moment. _Holy shit_ , he thinks before realizing why. _She’s special. She’s one of us._

She blinks up at him with innocent eyes and Jensen knows instantly that she has no idea. She must not have manifested yet and it makes his heart ache with protectiveness towards her. There’s no way this is a coincidence. This little girl and her father are meant to be with him, with them. Jensen is going to take care of them both, if it’s the last thing he ever does.

He presses his other hand to the other side of her head and kisses her forehead. “You okay now, Miss Kitty?”

She bestows a shy smile on him and nods her head. “Yes, Jenny.”

Jensen looks up at Jared from his perch on the floor and smirks. “So when can you move in?”

 

 **++++++**

 “It’s gonna be okay, Jared. We’re gonna work this out,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan insists, placing his hand paternally on Jared’s shoulder. His eyes are warm, eyebrows slanting, and that slow drawl in his voice is soothing.

They stand outside the shiny building on Lexington Avenue and stare at the front door as Jared collects himself. On the 17th floor are the law offices of Speight, Pellegrino & Roché and Jared can’t help feeling like it might as well be the ninth circle of Hell for all the trepidation he feels about entering the revolving door.

“I know, Jeff. I just want to thank you again, for everything. I don’t know how I will ever repay you, but I’ll work my ass off to try,” Jared replies earnestly.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan was Sandy’s boss at the small law offices where she worked as a paralegal. They tried to cultivate a sense of family at the firm and Jared and Sandy spent many a Sunday watching football and eating grilled steaks with Jeff and his wife Samantha. Jared knows that they were devastated when Sandy died and are doing their best to help Jared and Kat out in any way they can. Step one was offering to work pro bono on the custody case they are currently fighting. As much as it relieves Jared to know that Jeff is on his side, he knows from the shiny chrome nameplate on the ritzy Manhattan building that the McCoys are going to be hard to defeat.

“C’mon, son. Don’t want to be late,” Jeff prompts gently, urging Jared through the door. They go through security and the closer they get the sicker Jared feels. He sees the studied opulence around them as they check in with the haughty receptionist and are ushered into the main SP&R boardroom. He doesn’t know how a loser vet tech like him and a small-time lawyer like Jeff are going to defeat the fucking machine he knows is cranking on even as they speak.

 _I can’t lose my little girl_ , Jared prays, feeling like the world is closing in on him.

“Mr. Morgan, Mr. Padalecki, how good of you to join us,” Sebastian Roché smiles smugly as he sits in the large leather chair at the head of the polished mahogany table. He doesn’t even bother standing up and it makes Jared grit his teeth as the man’s obvious scorn washes over him.

The McCoys sit close together on his left side, looking at each other nervously.

“Hello,” Jared nods curtly at them, trying to keep his dignity intact and the hesitation out of his walk as he strides over and sits down across from them.

“Mr. Roché, didn’t know you were taking on this case personally,” Jeff says, trying to keep the frown off his face.

Jared catches his expression. He knows that Roché is the main partner at the firm and a big power player in Manhattan legal circles. Why in the world is he deigning to take some random custody case?

“Anything for the good of the children,” Roché smirks, tapping his fingers on the table for emphasis.

Jeff sits down to his right, even though Jared can tell the power differential in their placement is bothering him. “Okay, Mr. Roché, let’s not waste our clients’ time. Is there a reason you called us all here today?”

Roché lowers his eyelids momentarily but then the faux-sparkle is back in his eyes. “Indeed, Mr. Morgan, my time is money and I wouldn’t want to waste any of that.”

Jared just barely holds back a snort.

“As you know, the McCoys are requesting custody of their minor grandchild. The child—“

“Her name is Kat,” Jared interrupts firmly, speaking to Roché but looking directly at the McCoys. He’s not going to allow anyone, much less this douchebag in his three thousand dollar suit, treat his daughter like a piece of property that can be traded or inherited.

Roché’s expression sours at being cut off but continues on like Jared isn’t even in the room. “The McCoys believe that the child, _Katherine_ , would be better off in their care since they are much better prepared financially and mentally to deal with the unfortunate turn of events.”

“You mean how my wife died? How my wife died leaving me with only one person in the entire world that I can count on? Only one person that I love, that I would _give my life for?_ That unfortunate turn of events?” Jared rages, his shoulders shaking with all the pain and grief that he’s been pushing aside for months.

“Jared,” Jeff murmurs, putting his palm over Jared’s clenched fist.

All of the air whooshes out of Jared’s lungs and it feels like defeat. “I’m sorry, Jeff. Kat’s all I have.”

“Jared, we know how hard this is for you,” Mrs. McCoy starts gently, the tremor in her voice reflecting how wildly uncomfortable this is.

“We just want what’s best for Katherine,” Mr. McCoy adds, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulders protectively.

“She’s my little girl,” Jared says simply, and his voice breaks.

“And Sandy was ours,” Mrs. McCoy replies, her face open and hurting.

“Sandy wouldn’t want you to do this,” Jared insists, and if he is verging on begging then it can’t be helped.

“I would love to sit around and chat a little longer but I have drinks with the District Attorney in an hour and I need time to pick out a tie that matches my eyes a little better than this one,” Roché interjects and his mysteriously lilting accent makes Jared want to punch him in the face.

“Well then, by all means, finish what you need to say,” Jeff grits his teeth, his voice just a shade gruffer than when the conversation started.

Roché doesn’t waste any more time. “Mr. Padalecki, I hear your landlord finally called in his debt. Do you know where your child is going to be living next week?”

Jared looks at him in surprise. How did he know that? “As a matter of fact, I just found a wonderful new place for Kat and me to live. A big house in the suburbs, as domestic as can be.“ He glances over at the McCoys without hiding his scorn. “You guys would love it.”

Roché looks at him with that penetrative stare again, like he’s reaching right into Jared’s soul. It’s creeping him the fuck out. “Is that so? I have a feeling the McCoys are going to want this new home checked out. I mean, this is their beloved grandchild we’re talking about.”

Mr. McCoy looks like he’s about to say something but Roché turns the glare on him and the man wilts. Jared sees it happening with his own eyes and is stunned. He has never seen Bob McCoy ever back down to anyone, especially not some Manhattan slickster. It was half the reason they got along in the first place. Of course a lot has changed, Jared remembers bitterly.

“I’ll come on their behalf,” Roché offers and his bright face masks something Jared doesn’t even want to think about right now.

The whole room looks at him in shock.

“You want to come do a home check?” Jeff asks incredulously.

Roché’s lip curls up on one side only. “Oh Jeffrey, you make it sound like I can’t mingle amongst the commoners every now and again.”

Jared is about a second and a half away from getting up and walking right out of the room but Jeff’s hand tight around his wrist stops him. He gives Jared a look that says _calm down before you fuck this up_ and it eases just enough of the indignation out of him to keep him sitting.

“So, Jared,” Roché says his name like he wants to bite it. “When you settle in to your humble new abode, we’ll set up some time for me to come make sure little Katherine isn’t getting bitten by rats on a nightly basis.”

Mrs. McCoy shudders at that and Jared flinches. Just knowing they could think he would endanger his daughter like that is almost too much for him to bear.

“Fine,” Jared grits out. He turns to Jeff then, pitching his voice low. “Jeff, I have to get out of here. Now.”

Jeff pats his hand. “Me too, kid.”

They stand up and book it out of there before Jared’s nausea overwhelms him and he’s puking into the elegantly landscaped plant next to the main elevator bank.

With a friendly slap to the cheek and a look that ends up more sad than encouraging, Jeff heads home. Jared stands on the sidewalk for a moment before leaning back against the warmed concrete of the building and closing his eyes. Without even thinking he pulls out his cellphone and dials a number that surprises even him.

“Jared?”

“Hey Jensen,” Jared says and suddenly he can breathe again.

 

 **++++++**

 “Sweet!” Chad crows as Jensen opens the front door. Jared snickers at Jensen’s confused expression.

“Um, hello?” Jensen replies, eyebrow cocking.

“You could be a model, dude, seriously. How would you feel about the word “Folgers” tattooed on your cheekbone? The left side, you won’t even know it’s there,” Chad asks, waving his hand towards Jensen’s face .

Jensen ducks away before Chad can touch him. “Well, I do like coffee.”

“See! This will all work out just fine,” Chad smirks, throwing that one over his shoulder at Jared before pushing past Jensen and showing himself down the hallway.

Jared groans and shrugs in his most apologetic manner but Jensen just laughs and ushers him in.

“So that’s Chad, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s Chad. I’m sorry in advance for anything and everything he does. Ever,” Jared rolls his eyes.

Jensen just keeps smiling at him and Jared can’t help smiling back. It’s like Jensen is feeding his energy right into him and as dirty as that sounds Jared is helpless against it. His life is so twisted in every other respect that he finds himself not wanting to fight whatever it is he is feeling. Jensen smiling at him makes him smile. That is good enough for Jared, at least for the time being.

“So did you bring the kids?” Jensen inquires, peeking around Jared.

“I did, you ready for them?” Jared grins proudly and goes to pull the dogs out of the back of the van he rented. Today is moving day and the first time all of his children will be bombarding the house. He’s a little nervous if he’s being honest, but also strangely excited since having the dogs there will really make this feel like their home.

 _Their home._ Jared breathes in deeply.

Harley lets out a low-pitched and loud woof before racing over to tackle Jensen. Sadie is more demure and wanders over to give him an exploratory sniff or two. Jared is worried at first because the dogs are huge and he doesn’t know how Jensen is going to react but relaxes immediately when he sees that Jensen has lowered himself to the floor to get on their level and let them learn his scent. Jared adds another entry to his _Why Jensen is Awesome_ list.  Which is the geekiest thing Jared’s ever thought and god help him but it’s true.

“Kat in the car?” Jensen asks, looking up from his place on the floor.

“Nah, she’s with Chad’s mom for the day. I’ll go get her later after we’re done moving all the stuff.”

“Probably smart, although I’m sure she’s missing her best friend,” Jensen smirks.

“You mean Chris?” Jared snorts. “Trust me, he’s all she’s talked about for the past week.”

“As harsh as they can be, kids are smarter than adults the majority of the time. The things we think are weird are amazing to them.” Jensen pauses and looks wistful and Jared wishes for a moment that he could read his mind. His hand is stroking Sadie’s head absently and Harley has lodged himself fully underneath his left armpit. Even his dogs are in love with Jensen.

Jared looks away quickly and rushes back to the car to start grabbing boxes.

Jensen goes to let the dogs out into the backyard and Jared peeks into the living room to see Chad staring down Misha, who is currently wearing one of Danneel’s glittery caftan-looking things.

Jared clears his throat to break up the stare-off, even though there seems to be some weird kind of competition going on.

Misha’s lips curl into a smile and he curtsies at Chad. “Misha Collins. Enchanté.”

“Chad Michael Murray. No habla espanol, amigo.”

“Alrighty then, I’m gonna just go carry this box somewhere that is not here,” Jared murmurs as Misha’s smile starts to look suspiciously like a shark’s.

Their new bedrooms are on the first floor, same as Jensen’s (which is not a big deal, not a big deal at all, Jared reminds himself) while Misha  and Gen and Chris and Danneel share rooms on the second floor. The attic is converted into what is being described as the “swing room” and Jared wants to never, ever think about that again. The basement has been converted into a huge playroom-like space with a pool table and minibar and—hopefully—some kind of play area for Kat. Jared is a little uneasy when he thinks about how lucky they are to have stumbled on to this amazing house, especially considering how cheap the rent is. He knows that Misha owns it so the monthly costs are low, but he can’t help feeling that the other shoe is going to drop sometime and he’s going to finally see what the catch is.

He brushes off his negativity and tries to assure himself that this is the part of his life that’s going right, even if his new roommates are arguably insane and/or wildly inappropriate. He thinks about Jensen’s smile, the way the little lines bursting from the corner of his eyes scrunch up, and how he kind of wiggles his nose when Misha says something particularly offensive. Jared doesn’t know why he’s noticing all these little things about another guy.  Well maybe he knows. But he’s not going to think about it. Not now at least, when the rest of his world is falling on top of him.

He heads into Kat’s new room, which is actually a small office they converted into a bedroom when Jared agreed to move in. He looks around in surprise when he realizes that it’s been newly painted in a soft pale purple, Kat’s favorite color. Someone in this house stopped to think about what his daughter would love, what would make her happy, even if it was as simple as a paint color. They wanted her to feel welcome in her new home. Jared feels tears prickle the backs of his eyes that people they don’t even know care about his daughter’s well-being. Even if everything they have left has had to be pared down into what can fit into a meager amount of boxes, that care is something he can cling to in order to make him hopeful for the future.

Jared puts the box down in the corner of the room and wipes a hand across his face. He’ll never live it down if Chad catches him getting emotional over purple paint. He actually guffaws at the thought and wanders back out to start grabbing more stuff.

He passes the glass door leading to the backyard, where Jensen is standing watching something outside with an amused expression on his face. Jared follows his line of vision to where Harley and Sadie are chasing Gen around in circles in the grass.

“Should I be worried for her?” Jared asks, a little nervous that she could be upset about being chased by animals almost larger than she is.

“Just wait. Give it….three…two…one. Yup, there we go.”

Jared looks away from Jensen and back out into the yard where things have reversed and Gen is now chasing the dogs, who are running frantically away from her.

Jared giggles ( _oh god, what was that,_ he groans) and Jensen joins in like it’s contagious.

“So, that was odd,” Jared states, after they manage to calm down.

“You have no idea,” Jensen mumbles and Jared decides to stop while he’s ahead.

They manage to get all of their stuff moved into the house within a few hours once they recruit Chris into helping and extract Chad from whatever existential debate he and Misha were engaged in (that Jared doesn’t even want to think about, thank you very much).

“Ah man, I’m so gross,” Jared moans apologetically, pulling his t-shirt away from his sticky skin. It’s still August and the humidity and exertion is making his normal propensity towards sweat even worse.

Jensen looks at him with a flicker of something Jared refuses to name but it’s gone just as quickly. “Why don’t you go take a shower and have Chad go pick up Kat? Dinner should be done soon and you’ll feel better.”

Jared looks over at the bathroom that he’s going to be sharing with Jensen.

 _Oh my god, I’m sharing a bathroom with Jensen._

That is so not a big deal. It’s a bathroom. Toilet. Sink. Shower. Towel rack. Medicine cabinet.

 _Naked Jensen._

“I’ll run upstairs to Misha’s bathroom to take one while you’re in there. Remember my sacrifice when I come back smelling like a plant,” Jensen winks before running upstairs.

Jared somehow manages to take a shower without stroking his cock even once.

The doorbell rings as he is shaking the last of the water out of his hair and he doesn’t see anyone around so he heads to answer it. Pulling open the door reveals an attractive blonde with rows upon rows of white teeth and a perfectly measured ponytail.

The mystery blonde pushes a basket full of what smells suspiciously like brownies into his arms. Her ponytail sways. Perfectly.

“Katie Cassidy, president of the community board. You must be the new housemate!” she beams, her smile stretching across her face in a strangely fixed manner.

“Jared Padalecki, nice to meet you,” he says amiably, balancing the basket in one hand and reaching the other one out for her to shake.

Her gaze flickers over him almost too quickly for him to catch and she goes to reach out her hand before pulling it back suddenly. Her eyes narrow slightly. “You aren’t going to try and make me shave my head, are you?”

Jared stifles a laugh. “I promise I will never ask that of you.”

The fixed beam returns instantly. The ponytail bounces. “Great! Then welcome to the neighborhood.“

“Thanks for these, my daughter will love them,” Jared smiles, holding up the basket of baked goods.

“Oh you have a daughter! That’s wonderful. So domestic,” Katie replies and Jared is convinced that she actually purrs.

Jared is suddenly uncomfortable with the way she’s staring at him. “So, Katie, it was great to meet you, but I’m gonna go get ready for dinner.”

Katie tries to peek around him into the house but he manages to block her, massive shoulders finally coming in handy. “Are the rest of the…gang around?”

Jared doesn’t like the sudden shift in the tone of her voice. It’s a mix of suspicion and curiosity that could probably get intense. He suddenly realizes why Jensen doesn’t want to be the “normal” one of the group. Luckily Jared has so many other things to worry about that dealing with a nosy neighbor is a piece of cake.

“Yup, everyone’s already at the table. Sunday dinner, you know? They are a pretty traditional group, after all,” Jared just manages to hold back a smirk.

Her expression is wary for a moment before snapping back into smooth politeness. The ponytail, however, gives her away by twitching. “Well, of course they are. You better get going. Don’t forget to eat all those treats, made them myself!”

“Will do, thanks,” he says and gives her his biggest, brightest, dimpliest smile to take the sting out of shutting the door in her face.

The doorbell rings again before he’s even halfway down the hallway and when he opens it his daughter is staring up at him.

“Where’s Uncle Chad?” he frowns.

Kat rolls her eyes and points a thumb at poor Katie Cassidy getting leered at by his soon-to-be-dead-best-friend up against the mailbox. Nosy neighbor or not, no one deserves that.

“Chad!” Jared hollers and Katie uses the distraction to take off as fast as her pumps will take her.

“Call me!” Chad yells after her, doing his best half wink-half squint thing.

“Get in the house, you moron,” Jared demands, grabbing him by the neck and pushing him through the doorway.

“Such a cockblocker, fuck,” Chad grumbles, and makes what Jared thinks is an attempt to karate chop him. Jared blocks it easily and laughs as he pushes him towards the dining room.

“Do you think you can act like a normal human being for one dinner?” Jared inquires.

“I thought you were the normal one? I’m here for the entertainment, brother,” Chad replies in his best smarmy manner and Jared smacks him on the head. “Ow, fucker!”

“Stop swearing around my kid!”

“Your kid’s not even here, dude, she’s probably off with her new adopted cat father.”

“This is all your fault, asswipe.”

“What, that I saved you from imminent homelessness? Yeah, I’m such a jerk.”

“Fuckwad. Let’s eat.”

“Oh, _Chad_ is the one who swears, huh?”

  
“Seriously dude, stop speaking about yourself in the third person. It creeps me out.”

“Oh, it’s you,” Misha’s voice interrupts their usual banter. He lowers his eyelids and stares at Chad.

“Why are you wearing a diaper?” Chad inquires, and actually looks mildly interested.

“It’s a dhoti, you American,” Misha corrects.

“You’re American,” Chad replies and makes it sound like a “Yo Mama” joke.

“I’m one with the world.”

Chad nods, inexplicably (for him) accepting the vague answer and turning his attention to more important things. “I’m hungry, pilgrims. Feed me!”

Since it’s their first night all together they decide to use the formal dining room, which Jensen assures Jared is a rarity. Danneel makes jambalaya for the adults and chicken fingers for Kat (and Chad) and the food is delicious and the wine smooth. Jared feels a sense of warmth surround him and he’s not sure whether it’s the booze or the proximity of Jensen’s thigh next to his under the table. He glances over at him and finds Jensen just looking away, the hint of a blush on his cheeks.

Misha and Gen are attempting to debate quantum psychics with Chad during the dessert course, for some reason (Chad’s contribution: “That shit is crazy!”) and Kat is happily stuffing her face with Katie’s delicious chocolate brownies.

“You’re super smart, huh?” Chad finally gives up, ignoring Misha, but looking at Gen admiringly.

“I went to NYU three times,” Gen smirks, wiggling her eyebrows.

Chad looks perplexed. “Did you flunk—“

“In three different decades,” Misha adds proudly, leaning over to wiggle his nose against Gen’s.

 _Huh?_ Jared thinks but then he feels Jensen’s thigh muscle tense against his own and _oh god_ that shouldn’t be as hot as it is. The wine is making him mellow enough that he’s not thinking too hard about Gen’s college years, yet all his nerve endings shoot straight up when Jensen leans over and whispers “I’m happy you guys are here” right into his ear with that low husky voice. Jared thinks Jensen is doing that distraction thing again. It's working.

Jared swallows and Jensen’s gaze drifts to his throat. “Me too, Jen. Me too.”

He barely notices Chris and Danneel staring at them with raised eyebrows from across the table.

 **++++++**

It’s the weekend after Labor Day and the weather is still hot and only slightly less humid. Kat started second grade at her new school the week before and through sheer force of will and personality has managed to fit right in. She loves her teacher, a doe-eyed redhead named Miss Julie, and seems to have already made a few friends. She seems content with their current circumstances and Jared is relieved.

It also makes him nervous, though. Kat is just a little girl and losing her mother and being shoved into a house full of rather, well, odd people and into a new school should have taken its toll on her. Instead, she seems to be thriving and as much as that should make him happy (and it does, dammit, it does) he can’t help but think it’s all going to come tumbling down around them.

Now though, it’s the weekend and the grill is out and pitchers of homemade lemonade are laid out on the tables in the backyard. Chris has his shirt off as he flips burgers and Jared takes in his tiger stripped torso and limbs. It’s still a little surprising when he sees the extent of Chris’ tattoos, but he’s getting used to it, day by day. In fact, Jared’s getting used to all of it as the weeks pass, and it unsettles him a bit at how fast the process is happening.

Danneel hands him a glass of lemonade and looks over to where he’s staring at Misha teaching Kat how to hold her breath underwater in the pool.

“He’s a great swimmer, you know. She’s fine,” Danneel insists.

“Is that so?” Jared says dubiously, rubbing the cold glass over his sweaty forehead.

“He spent a year in Bora Bora ‘finding himself’,” she informs him, her voice tinged with amusement.

“Did he find the red speedo and Spongebob floaties in Bora Bora as well?” Jared tries to deadpan, but it’s useless and they both start laughing.

“No, I think those are from Amazon, although knowing Misha he probably could find whatever the Bora Bora version of Spongebob is and work with that.”

Jared grins at Danneel and she returns it. He’s come to really like her and is glad that Kat has a quasi-maternal figure in the house. As much as he loves his daughter, he knows that he’s never going to be her mother. Jared tries not to let the sadness creep into his expression, even as Danneel’s eyes turn soft and fond.

“Daddy, watch!” Kat’s exuberant scream breaks the somber moment, and Jared is way too grateful.

“I’m watching, Kit-Kat, show me what Misha taught you!” Jared hollers back, as she makes a huge show of taking a deep breath and holding her nose before dunking herself.

“Misha teaching her anything should be a terrifying thought, just so you know,” Jensen grins, suddenly next to him.

“I think Kat is smart enough to figure out ‘world domination’ on her own, so Misha can’t do too much damage,” Jared replies, matching Jensen’s grin. Danneel snickers nearby, but Jared barely notices.

“We have guests!” Gen shouts from the sliding glass door leading into the house, and Jared turns to see Jeff and Samantha standing behind her, looking a little wary. Jared glances at Jensen, who is suddenly looking a little nervous for some reason. Jared smiles at him again and gets a muted one in return.

 _Maybe Jensen just doesn’t like new people_ , Jared tells himself. _Except for me. I was a new person and he liked me just fine._

That thought makes Jared both warm and vaguely uncomfortable, all at the same time.

“Jeff, Sam, welcome to our new digs,” Jared announces, ignoring the weirdness with Jensen and going over to pull them each into a hug.

“What a lovely house you’ve got here,” Samantha says warmly, pushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes and looking around the backyard.

“It’s pretty great, right? The neighborhood is fantastic too,” Jared replies, feeling pretty proud of himself until he realizes he actually has Chad to thank for it. He manages to ignore that part.

“Why don’t you introduce us to your roommates? We’ve met Gen here, she was quite an introduction,” Jeff says, glancing over at Gen, who just shrugs nonchalantly and smirks a little.

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Jared,” Gen insists innocently.

“Even Chad?” Jared laughs.

“Gen likes people with a little bite, isn’t that right honey?” Misha interrupts then, grabbing her into a wet, speedo-ed hug.  She grips him by his floaties and starts nibbling on his bottom lip.

Jeff and Samantha stand there a bit shell-shocked, but luckily Jensen pops up then to save them.

“Hey, I’m Jensen, so great to meet you. Jared’s told us a lot about you, and Kat just raves about your peanut butter cup cookies, gotta get you to make some for us sometime,” Jensen gushes smoothly, reaching out to shake their hands and turn them slyly away from Misha and Gen’s cavorting.

Jared sighs and mouths “Thank you” at Jensen, who responds with a secret half smile as he leads Jeff and Samantha over to the table Chris is filling with freshly cooked meat. Kat runs across the grass and launches herself at Samantha.

“Kat, you’re gonna get Aunt Sam all wet!” Jared yells but Samantha just waves him off and pulls Kat into a full body hug.

“Oh, look at you! Did you get bigger since the last time I’ve seen you or what?” Samantha grins, kneeling down to get on Kat’s level.

Kat nods happily and holds up her arm to make a completely invisible muscle. “Danni cooks really weird food but Chris says it’s good for me and it’s going to make me strong like him, so I’m eating it.”

Samantha looks impressed by that and looks up at Jared, who is just rolling his eyes. “This Chris must be pretty strong if that’s all it takes to get you to eat anything other than chicken fingers.”

“Chris is my best friend!” Kat gushes, turning around and pointing to the tattooed figure standing next to the grill with an amused expression on his face.

“That’s right, and don’t you forget it,” Chris agrees, coming over to introduce himself to their guests. “Christian Kane, nice to make your acquaintance.”

Samantha shakes his hand automatically, but Jared senses a slight hesitation from Jeff. It’s only a split second, but it’s there, and it makes Jared’s stomach sink. He knows that Jeff is a tolerant guy, but he realizes that not everyone is used to the things that Jared is already finding himself used to.

A few hours later, after a hearty lunch and a few demonstrations of Kat’s latest aquatic feats, Jared’s fears are realized when Jeff pulls him aside.

“So,” Jeff starts, his voice cautious. “Your roommates seem real nice.”

“Yeah, they’re great. A little eccentric maybe, but you get used to that,” Jared says firmly, wanting Jeff’s approval more than he had previously realized.

“Roché’s going to be coming for a home visit soon,” Jeff says, and pauses. He lets that sit there for a moment before continuing. “Which is completely unorthodox and you don’t have to agree to it.”

Jared sighs, knowing Jeff threw that last part in just to try and make him feel better. “You know as well as I do that refusing the home visit is just going to make me look like I have something to hide.”

Jeff nods in agreement and frowns. “Well, do you think you have something to hide? I mean, this house is great but maybe this isn’t the best…environment for a young kid.”

Jared feels indignation rise up in him without warning. “What’s wrong with this environment, Jeff?”

Jeff holds up his hands in an attempt to smooth his next words. “I’m just saying that your roommate situation might not be the most normal one and that might look bad.”

Jared almost laughs at that, knowing that he himself is the one that is supposed to introduce the normalcy into the household. He knows Jeff’s right to an extent, and it burns inside to think about it. These people are his friends, aren’t they? Or at the very least, they could be someday.

Jared is still thinking about what Jeff said later that night as he goes to tuck Kat into bed. He finds Danneel there instead, with Kat tucked tightly into her side.  Kat seems to be asleep, her breath soft and even, but Jared can see dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

“What happened?” Jared whispers, torn between panic and not wanting to wake her up.

Danneel looks up, startled a bit to see him enter the room. There are tears on her cheeks as well and her hand is twisted around Kat’s wrist, lying directly on top of the bracelet made of Venetian glass beads that Sandy had given Kat the Christmas before. Jared hasn’t seen it since Sandy died and realizes that Kat must have been keeping it hidden for some reason.

Danneel pitches her voice low, and starts stroking the bracelet in an almost loving manner. “I’m sorry, Jared. I didn’t mean to interfere. I think, well, I think she just missed her mother.”

Jared tries to think back on the day, trying to remember if anything had happened that might have caused Kat’s grief but not coming up with anything out of the ordinary. They had a good day, good food and swimming in the pool, Jeff’s warnings notwithstanding. Jared realizes with a clenched heart that this is just their reality now and he has to prepare himself for things like this to happen.

He walks over to the bed and kneels down beside them. He shushes Danneel when she makes an attempt to get up and smiles gratefully at her.

“Thanks, Danni, it means a lot that you were here.”

Danneel runs a hand tentatively over his hair and it’s comforting. “It’ll get better, Jared. It always does.”

Jared nods silently and bends down to kiss Kat’s forehead. She murmurs something unintelligible and snuffles a little in her sleep, and it makes Jared laugh softly. Danneel keeps stroking the bracelet.

Jared’s chest lightens when he comes to the decision that no matter what Jeff says, they have the chance to make this their home and it’s a chance he has to take.

 **  
  
**

**++++++**

Misha opening the door in a pair of purple gauze harem pants while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is probably not the best way to start Sebastian Roché’s first visit to their home. Jensen just manages to keep Jared from hyperventilating when he realizes that Misha has beaten him to the front entrance.

“You have a lovely head of hair,” Misha muses, looking Roché up and down before opening the door wide enough for him to enter.

Roché narrows his eyes momentarily before obviously deciding Misha’s not interesting enough to answer, and waltzes into the house like he owns the place. He’s followed close behind by a huge bruiser type with prison tattoos, a tiny moustache, and a bald head.

“You, however, do not,” Misha tsks at the bodyguard before shutting the door and wandering closer to Jensen. Misha schools his voice into a stage whisper. “You would think he would make a great super-villain but, alas, no gravitas.”

“Misha, shut up,” Jensen hisses under his breath and then almost groans when Gen pops into the hallway.

“Beetlejuice!” she whispers at the bodyguard, who just growls at her. Misha laughs and Jensen hates himself for joining in. The guy _does_ have a really small head.

Jensen stops laughing immediately when he realizes Jared is on the verge of passing out. He steers their guests into the living room and then offers his hand to Roché, who takes it after a moment of silent, haughty judgment.

Jensen is shocked because he feels…nothing. No buzz, no tingle, no sensation. It’s like there’s an invisible coating between Roché’s nerves and his own and it’s unlike anything Jensen’s experienced since he was fifteen years old.

Roché is looking at him then, his head tilted at an odd angle as his eyes bore into him. After an unknown amount of time, they drop the handshake. Roché looks like he’s trying to decipher something and Jensen finds himself rubbing his own palm compulsively.

Roché’s expression changes instantly and the mask goes right back on as he turns to Jared. “As you know, Mr. Padalecki, I’m not here for a social visit.” He turns and looks with obvious scorn at Misha. “Although I’m sure the possibilities for amusement are endless.”

“I have a wonderful vitamin in my line that will help with regularity,” Misha responds with a lazy smile. “You know, after you have the stick removed.”

Jensen pushes Misha towards the kitchen. “Go do dishes, Misha. Or something.”

“Yes, show us how Mr. Padalecki is playing house _, Misha_ ,” Roché smirks, waving at Misha as Jensen forces him from the room.

Jensen sees the moment Jared decides to take control of the situation and it makes him smile involuntarily.

“Ok, Mr. Roché, we both know why you’re here, so let’s get to it.” Jared’s voice is steel and Jensen can feel the freckles on his cheeks heat up.

Jared shows Roché around the ground floor and the backyard. When Roché insists on seeing the upstairs, Jensen thanks his lucky stars that he had Chris take down his suspension unit in the attic. Jensen doesn’t care that Chris likes to hang himself from metal hooks to get a “spiritual buzz”, but Roché might not feel the same way.

Roché doesn’t engage them all that much, but Jensen knows he’s watching and calculating. There is something off about the man, and Jensen can’t put his finger on it. It’s still bugging him later after Roché and his tiny-headed henchman leave and Jared throws himself down on the sofa with an exhausted grunt.

“So that went well,” Jensen starts, handing Jared a beer before sitting down on the loveseat to nurse his own. He let the dogs in before coming into the room and they curl up on the rug next to the couch, sleepy from the heat of the day.

Jared rolls his eyes before downing half the beer in one gulp. Jensen watches his Adam’s apple bob up and down with the movement and sinks back lower into the loveseat. Jared leans down to pet Sadie, who growls happily and rubs her face against his hand.

“OK, it didn’t go as bad as it could have,” Jensen revises and that gets a laugh out of Jared.

“Yeah, Misha’s penis didn’t make an appearance, there is that,” Jared nods and Jensen laughs with him.

They get quiet and sip their beers for a minute. “Hey, I know it sucks, but there’s no judge in the world that’s going to take that little girl away from you. I don’t care how expensive that dude’s suits are.”

Jared finishes his beer and rubs it between his hands, staring down at his lap. He finally looks up and there’s a sad smile on his face. “Thanks, Jensen.  I know you guys didn’t sign up for all this drama when we moved in, so it’s awesome that you’re being so supportive.”

  
“Drama? Have you seen our roommates? Custody hearings are a snoozefest compared to Misha and Gen’s dance of bitey love,” Jensen snorts.

“Yeah, what’s up with the biting? They do that a lot, don’t they?”

Jensen nearly chokes on a mouthful of beer at that, but can’t keep himself from laughing. “Oh, you have no idea. The things I’ve seen….”

Jared holds up his hands in surrender. “Stop right there, I don’t want to know.”

Another silence, but it’s comfortable and nice and Jensen realizes he could get used to this, just this. Harley snores a little and Sadie pushes him with her snout in futile attempt to shut him up.

“So,” Jensen says finally. “You guys seem to be settling in well.”

Jared smiles, a closed-mouthed but genuine one. “Yeah, Kat likes her teacher, the dogs have stopped chasing Gen whenever she enters the room. Pretty good progress. What about you? Are we working out for you guys?”

“I did lose my best friend to your kid, but if it had to be anyone, it might as well be her,” Jensen grins. It’s easy to joke with Jared, comfortable and light. Jensen doesn’t think he’s gotten along this well, this fast with someone since he met Chris. He figured his attraction to Jared would make things awkward, but what Jared doesn’t know, can’t affect him.

Jensen realizes that sentiment can cover a lot of things and feels a bit uneasy. He doesn’t _want_ to lie to Jared, but things are precarious with the custody case and Jensen is afraid he’d bolt if he got even an inkling of the truth behind their abilities. Who is he kidding, Jared would probably think he was crazy if he even brought it up, and that would be reason enough for him to leave. And he doesn’t want Jared to leave, he realizes suddenly. He likes Jared, and Kat, being in his—their—lives.

He fits them. Him. Jared fits him.

“Want another beer?” Jensen asks.

Jared nods and then smiles at him and Jensen feels the buzz of it run through him.

 

 **++++++**

Danneel comes out of the kitchen carrying a basket full of mini-candy bars and props it up on a stool set up next to the front door. 

“So we’re really letting Misha and Gen hand out candy? To children? Can we get sued by any parents if something goes tragically wrong?” Jared inquires, staring at Danneel with raised eyebrows.

“You would never know it from the lack of clothing, but Halloween is Misha’s favorite time of year,” Danneel informs him, popping a mini-Butterfinger in her mouth.

“Actually I can see him liking a day that is built around mystery and deceit,” Jared laughs and then spins around as Misha enters the hallway. “Speak of the naked devil.”

Misha twirls to show off his costume. “Not naked at all, my tall friend.  Guess what I am.”

Jared takes in the rather surprising outfit. Well-worn Levis. A faded Metallica shirt. A stack of leather bracelets and a couple silver rings. Jared squints and sees what appears to be dots drawn on Misha’s cheeks with brown eyeliner pencil before laughing with delight as it hits him. “You’re Jensen!”

Misha effortlessly catches the Snickers Danneel tosses him and grins. “You are correct, young man. Danni, give the boy a Milky Way.”

“Ewww, no way. Give me a Peanut Butter Cup,” Jared corrects, making grabby hands at the candy bucket until Danneel relents and tosses one at his head.

Gen skips in a moment later, swinging her black and red satin cape dramatically. She hisses and exposes a majestic set of vampire fangs.

Jared leans in closely to admire them. “Damn, Gen, those are the best fake fangs I’ve ever seen. Where did you get them?”

“Opening night of Hadyn’s Armida. Fucking tenor bastard didn’t even let me have my mad scene first,” Gen grumbles wistfully.

Danneel shoves another Reese’s in Jared’s mouth before he can respond.

“Is that my shirt?” Jensen deadpans, standing with his hands on his hips in front of Misha.

“Yes, Young Ackles, and it still has your hearty musk attached to it,” Misha agrees.

“Wait! You still need one more thing for your costume, babe,” Gen says to Misha, before whipping out a tall witch’s hat with a cackle. Misha puts it on his head and faces Jensen for judgment.

“Do I look like a pretty warlock?” Misha asks, batting his eyelashes.

“You’re lucky you have clothes on because I’m ten seconds away from performing my first castration.”

“Hey, those are mine!” Gen pouts, grabbing at Misha’s crotch.

Jensen throws up his hands with a huff and stomps into the living room. Jared laughs and follows him.  Chris is in there with Kat prepping her makeup for the evening. She is, of course, the most adorable cat in all of Long Island. She’s already wearing the headband with her cat ears attached and is sitting on her newly smushed tail, which is connected to white tights and her little pink leotard.

“Jensen, c’mere, I need someone’s lap for height,” Chris announces, waving Jensen over to the couch. Jensen flops down and Kat climbs on his lap so she’s high enough for Chris to start attaching fake whiskers to her face with eyelash glue.

“It’s cold!” Kat giggles.

“Don’t move, little lady, or you’re gonna have whiskers on your chin instead of your cheeks!” Chris admonishes lightly.

Kat does her best to stay still, which basically involves squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth together.

Chris laughs. “Girl, what is this face you’re making?”

Jensen peeks over to see it and Kat opens one eye tentatively.

“That’s her concentration face,” Jared offers, grinning from his place leaning against the doorframe.

“Ah well, okay then. That’s a great face,” Chris corrects himself, hiding a smirk as he continues gluing on the synthetic whiskers.

“Nice ears you got there,” Jensen snickers, gesturing up at the headband Chris is wearing to match Kat’s.

Chris moves his head sassily. “You’re just jealous you ain’t as cute as Kat and me.”

“Yeah, Jensen, where is _your_ costume?” Jared challenges, amused.

Jensen looks him up and down and Jared squirms a little. “I don’t see you in a costume, dude.”

“I’m _Dad_ , that’s my costume,” Jared smirks.

“Well, you’re wearing it well,” Jensen replies and his voice is just soft enough that Jared almost doesn’t catch it. He does though, and feels himself blushing a little. Chris very pointedly ignores it.

Thankfully, Chad chooses that exact moment to show up. Of course, it’s hard to tell that it even is Chad, considering he’s wearing a sheet with a ninja mask over it.

“I think the little one tried to bite me. She’s taking her costume way too seriously, dudes,” Chad announces himself, pointing his thumb back towards the front door.

“And what are you supposed to be?” Jensen asks from the couch as he takes in Chad’s costume.

“I’m a ghost ninja, duh.” If Jared could see Chad’s face, he figures he would be rolling his eyes.

“So you’re a dead ninja,” Jensen clarifies.

“Um…yes?”  Chad’s voice gets unsure.

“Which basically means you totally suck as a ninja,” Jensen points out finally. Jared bites his lip to keep from laughing.

“Hey! I went out like a badass, dude. Totally sacrificed myself to save the girl. Girls, I mean, many girls, I saved all of the many girls,” Chad insists, waving his sheet-covered arms in emphasis.

“Done,” Chris says, ignoring Chad and patting Kat on the knee.

She hops up and goes over to take Chad’s hand. “Uncle Chad, I think your costume is great and I’m sure all the many girls were happy you died saving them.”

“Children are so much smarter than warlocks,” Chad says, patting Kat on the head.

“I’m not a warlock,” Jensen says at the same time Jared says “He’s not a warlock.” That earns Jared a grin from Jensen that he returns happily before looking away.

“Can we go now?” Kat asks, coming over to Jared and tugging at his hand.

“Sure, Kit-Kat, let’s go.” Jared looks around the room. “You guys want to come with us?”

Chad pulls a pillowcase out from under his sheet and holds it up victoriously. “I’m ready!”

“I gotta go into the shop. Halloween always brings out the late night appointments,” Chris says and continues on quickly when Kat’s face falls. “But I’m keeping my ears on, tail too. Don’t you worry about that, little lady.”

Kat beams and Jared rubs a hand through her hair fondly.

“Jensen’s going, aren’t you Jen?” Chris throws out, fighting a smirk as he looks at Jensen.

Jared looks at Jensen, who is staring at Chris with an unreadable expression. “Yeah, Jensen, come with us. I promise you can hide behind me when we get to the Cassidy house.”

Jensen turns to him slowly and then finally smiles. “Sure, why not. We can always throw Chad at her if she gets too frisky.”

“Are we talking about that tight little blonde neighbor of yours? Because you can throw me at her any day,” Chad agrees, making lewd, albeit sheet-covered movements with his pelvis.

“If you don’t stop that I’m going to let Gen bite you,” Jared warns and Chad stops moving instantly.

The first few blocks of trick-or-treating is quiet, dusk just setting in and only a smattering of neighborhood children out yet. Jared lets Kat go off ahead with Chad as he hangs back with Jensen. They walk along the edge of the sidewalk, close enough to almost touch, but not. They talk about pointless stuff like work and the new supermarket that opened up nearby, but it’s comfortable and Jared finds himself more peaceful than he’s been in a long time.

The rest of the evening is uneventful, except for the fact that Jensen does hide behind Jared when they get to Katie Cassidy’s house. Chad, however, has no qualms about leaning across her doorframe and leering through his ninja-masked sheet as she hands Kat home-baked snickerdoodles instead of pre-packaged candy. It is only when he asks if he can “doodle you somewhere a little more private, sweetheart” that Katie slams the door in his face.

“Well she obviously has no respect for the great art of the ninja,” Chad huffs and Kat pats his arm reassuringly.

Jared watches as Jensen helps a sleepy Kat take off her whiskers using some of Danneel’s makeup remover later that night. She’s sitting on the counter of their shared bathroom and Jensen is laughing when Kat keeps scratching at her cheek after he removes each one.

“It tickles,” she manages to giggle and yawn at the same time.

Jensen picks her up and carries her to bed, lying her down on her vintage Thundercats bed sheets Misha found on eBay and tucking the quilt Mrs. McCoy made her around her up to her chin.

Jared watches Jensen kiss her forehead and wonders to himself why this moment feels so damn perfect.

 

 **++++++**

It ‘s a little more than two months since that initial meeting in Roché’s glittery boardroom and the custody case keeps chugging on. Jeff assures him that things like this take time, but Jared knows that until it is over and done with and Kat is securely and legally in his arms, he will always feel like there is a guillotine hanging over his neck. The thought alone keeps him from being totally secure about anything in his life.

Even Jensen.

 _Especially_ Jensen.

Jared sighs as he enters the steps of Kat’s elementary school on a blustery November morning. Today is Career Day and the kids are bringing in their parents for show-and-tell. Jared had gotten permission to bring Sadie in to play with the kids and help highlight the work he does with animals at the vet’s office. That was all well and good with Kat but there was no way anyone was going to talk her out of the idea that her best friend Chris had to come as well. After a personal plea to Miss Julie (including a color-coded diagram that Misha helped her draw explaining all the reasons why Chris was awesome and important to second graders) she had gotten permission to bring two people to Career Day. Jared had just smiled and felt proud at how tolerant and intelligent his kid had turned out to be. He couldn’t ask for much more than that (besides never, ever dating, not tattooing her face,  and not becoming a naked agoraphobic.)

“Good morning, Miss Julie,” Kat beams at her teacher as she barges into her classroom. She goes over to her designated cubby to store her backpack and purple puffy jacket.

“Good morning, Kat. Are you excited about today?” Julie inquires, her smile bright on her porcelain-skinned face. She is beautiful and Jared sometimes wonders why being around her doesn’t make him feel, well, anything. She looks at him shyly sometimes and even though he knows it wouldn’t be a good idea to date his daughter’s teacher, he’s positive she would accept. And yet, the desire to do so is just not there.

“Yes, Miss Julie, I have the super coolest guests to show and tell and everyone is going to be jealous, so I’m very excited!” Kat grins and swirls around to jump up and high five Chris.

Julie’s vision follows the action and she looks a little startled when she sees Chris’ face. “Oh, hello there.”

Chris stifles a laugh and replies with that slow drawl of his. Jared envies the way nothing ever seems to faze the man, even when he knows the majority of the world is judging him on sight. “I’m Christian Kane, ma’am, but you can call me Chris. I’m roommates with this goofball here and I’ve heard great things about you.”

Julie seems taken aback at how polite Chris is and Jared can see her shaking off her own wrong first impression of the man. “Of course, you’re Chris! Kat never stops talking about you. I think her friend Mandy is mad that you seem to have sewn up best friend status.”

“Mandy says you can’t be my best friend because you are a boy and boys are gross. I told her you were a cat, not a boy,” Kat says and rolls her eyes like Mandy is a crazy person for suggesting such a thing.

“Boys are super gross, Kit-Kat. That is good, solid advice,” Jared insists as Julie laughs and gives him another shy look.

“Oh, this must be your dog!” Julie exclaims a moment later, bending down to pet Sadie, who has been patiently waiting behind Jared’s legs.  Jared’s glad he didn’t bring Harley, who probably would have knocked poor Julie on her ass by now. That makes him think of the first time the dogs met Jensen, and how completely relaxed he had been at getting bulldozed by these giant monsters. Jared feels warm again and can’t look Julie completely in the eyes.

“This is Sadie, she’s the smart one, like me. Harley’s at home and he’s kind of dumb but nice, like Daddy,” Kat giggles and shoots her father a fake apologetic look.

“You better watch your tongue, young lady, or I’m gonna give you to Chris and Danneel,” Jared warns and the look of utter glee on her face makes him roll his eyes. “Well that plan backfired.”

Julie and Chris laugh and Sadie gives a little woof as Jared grabs up his daughter into a hug.

Jared is the first of Kat’s show-and-tell guests to go and the kids are in love with Sadie instantly. He knows he’s entertaining, although he prepares himself to be completely upstaged by Chris momentarily. Sure enough, after he exits the mini-staging area to a smattering of small people applause, Chris takes his place and a hush overtakes the room.

“See, I told you he was a cat!”

Kat’s manic squeal breaks the silence and suddenly all the kids start giggling and clapping enthusiastically. The only one who looks dejected is poor Mandy, who realizes any hopes for best friend status are forever shattered.

Jared leans against the back wall to watch Chris attempt to explain what a “high gauged needle” is to fourteen six-year-olds. 

“You were great up there,” a male voice breaks into his reverie and Jared looks over at the person it belongs to. He’s tall and good looking, with tousled dark brown hair and green eyes.

 _Not as green as Jensen’s._

Jared shakes his head to clear it. “Thanks man. Hard to impress second graders, you know?”

“Tell me about it,” the man chuckles, before sticking out his hand. “Matt Cohen, Mandy’s dad. I think your daughter is breaking my kid’s heart. “

Jared laughs quietly, trying not to draw attention away from Chris, although the rapturous looks from the audience makes him suspect it would take a nuclear bomb or an actual tiger to do that. “She shouldn’t feel bad, I think Kat loves Chris more than she loves me, so let her know I’m jealous too.”

Matt smiles at him and all Jared can think about is how his eyes don’t crinkle up in the corner when he does it.

“Sorry,” Jared pulls himself out of his thoughts. “I’m Jared, Jared Padalecki. Great to meet you.”

“So, Jared…I don’t want to be too forward or anything and I don’t usually do this, but would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” Matt asks him, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

 _Jensen does that when he’s nervous,_ Jared thinks, staring at Matt’s hand smoothing down the fine hair on the base of his skull.

Jared will never know why he doesn’t just say “sorry, I’m not gay.” His mouth goes to form the words but then he thinks of Jensen in the morning, sitting on the barstool in the kitchen in just boxers, creases from his pillow still lining his face, hair spiked in forty directions, coffee cup pressed to his lips like it holds the secret to life. He thinks of Jensen patiently explaining everything he’s doing to Kat as he builds a giant-sized dog house. He thinks of Jensen massaging his shoulders and letting him just vent after a particularly bad day at the office, when a 140 pound mastiff that looked a little too much like Harley got hit by a car and had to be put down when they couldn’t save him. He thinks about Jensen all the fucking time.

“I’m seeing someone, I’m sorry.”

Matt shrugs and gives a small smile. “It was worth a shot, right?”

Jared returns it, and it doesn’t feel that weird. “Definitely.”

 

 **++++++**

Jared and Sandy had always tried to encourage Kat’s individuality, so when she came to them at three and a half and announced that she wanted to start celebrating her “half birthday” instead of her real birthday, they decided “why the hell not.” So here Jared is in the middle of November with a house full of little kids, Misha in a clown costume, and Chad Michael Murray trying to convince ( _Doctor,_ Jared discovered) Matt Cohen that handing out commemorative keychains that say “Suck it, Grim Reaper!” to his heart surgery patients is a great idea.

When Jared asked Jensen if they could have the party at the house, he could tell that Jensen was hesitant. As much as they managed to fit into the household, Jared knows that Jensen is still wary of outsiders. Jared doesn’t understand why though, considering how (god he hates this word now) _normal_ Jensen seems to him.  Jared knows that Jensen is holding something inside of himself though, although he chalks it up to insecurity over people’s judgment of his religion. He trusts Jensen in a way that he hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time, since probably Sandy. He’s only known the man a few months and yet there’s a part of him that feels like they’ve known each other their whole lives.

Jared’s watching Jensen brush Kat’s long hair out of her face as she stuffs her mouth with cake, a fond smile on his face as he looks at her. He seems to feel Jared staring at him and looks at him with the same expression. Jared returns the smile, his face heating up a bit.

“Now I totally get why you blew me off,” Matt chuckles from next to him.

“You got to learn to stop sneaking up on me,” Jared insists, but he does it with a grin to make sure he knows he’s just joking.

“I had to be stealthy to escape the blond guy. I’m hoping he’s still talking somewhere and hasn’t realized I snuck away yet,” Matt replies, looking over his shoulder with mock fear.

Jared laughs and just shakes his head at his best friend’s well meaning if disastrous schemes. “So, what did you mean before? About blowing you off?”

Matt looks over at Jensen knowingly. “Oh, you know. If _that guy_ was my boyfriend I’d blow me off too.”

Jared blushes bright red and gulps down the suddenly excessive spit in his mouth. “Jensen? Oh, well Jensen’s not—“

Matt cuts him off. “Seriously, Jared, it’s cool. You don’t have to be shy about it. I mean, the guy looks at you like you discovered penicillin. Sorry, doctor analogy.”

Jared can’t help the way Matt’s words flow over him and make him ridiculously happy. He’s going to have to explore that little fact. “Jensen’s a great guy.”

Matt looks between Jared and Jensen again and nods a little. “Yeah, I guess he is. Don’t know whether I’m more jealous of you or him.”

Jared looks at him sharply and Matt holds up a hand to show he’s kidding. Jared knows he’s _definitely_ going to have to explore that possessive streak that just flared through him.

Matt wanders off then and the rest of the party goes off without a hitch. The only scary moment is when he catches Gen biting Misha’s red clown nose in the downstairs bathroom. That will haunt his dreams for a while.

Kat is tucked into bed and the roommates have gone upstairs to their rooms as Jensen helps Jared clean up in the kitchen. They maintain a comfortable silence as they dispose of plastic cups and wash sticky cake-tinged fingerprints off of various dinnerware.

“Thanks for letting us have the party here,” Jared says quietly, stacking bowls in the dishwasher.

“It’s your house too, Jared. I’m just glad the kids had a good time.”

They’re silent again and the gentle whoosh of Jensen sticking his hands in soapy water to wash a stray mug somehow makes him brave.

“Jensen?”

“Yeah, Jared?”

Jared is kissing him then, his mouth pressed hotly against a stunned Jensen, who doesn’t react. Just as Jared is going to pull back and start apologizing profusely, the seam of Jensen’s mouth parts and his tongue is tangling itself wildly with Jared’s.

Jared moans and instinctively grabs onto Jensen’s hips, not doing anything more than squeezing them. Jensen twists his wet, soapy hands in Jared’s hair and huffs his name as he tries to pull Jared even farther into him.

It lasts what feels like an eternity but is probably mere seconds, when Jared feels Jensen’s erection against his thigh and pulls back with a gasp.

Jensen’s eyes are black with lust and his beautiful mouth is even plusher than usual. Then it seems to strike him why Jared pulled away from him and he struggles to hide his hurt expression.

“Jensen,” Jared starts, his voice rough.

“It’s okay, Jared. It’s okay, it’s no big deal,” Jensen clears his throat, turning away from him and back towards the sink. Jared can see a flush creeping up his neck and Jensen starts rubbing it nervously.

Jared steps up behind him and places his hands gently on Jensen’s hips. Jensen shivers in his grasp, just slight enough for Jared to feel like he imagined it. “Not yet, Jen. I’m telling you yes, but just not yet.”

Jensen seems to relax in his hold but doesn’t turn to face him. “Okay, not yet. I can live with not yet.”

Jared rests his forehead against the back of Jensen’s head before leaning down to brush a kiss against Jensen’s neck. “Thank you for everything, Jensen,” he breathes against Jensen’s pulse point.

Jared flees to his room before Jensen can turn around again.

 

 **++++++**

 “So,” Jensen starts, plopping himself down on the bar stool in the kitchen.

“So, indeed,” Danneel agrees, raising her eyebrows as she pours him a cup of French roast and slides the cup over the counter to him.

“Jared kissed me.”

“I know.”

Jensen eyes spring open way wider than is usual before his second cup of coffee.

Danneel snorts and Jensen thinks briefly that she’s been with Chris way too long. “See that coffee mug you’re holding?”

Jensen pauses and looks before sighing heavily when he remembers what he had been washing when Jared started the search for his tonsils last night. “So I guess you saw everything, huh?”

Danneel lets him stew for a moment as Jensen’s face gets redder before laughing evilly and shaking her head. “Nah, just the beginning of it, but it was enough to make pouring that coffee a good time, I’ll tell you that.”

Jensen’s blush remains but he laughs with her before pausing and thinking of the night before. A fond expression slides over his face and Danneel ruffles his bed head hair with her fingers.

“Want to tell me what happened next?” she asks lightly.

Jensen starts frowning then involuntarily. “He said he’s not ready yet. I said it was okay because, honestly, I get it. His wife died less than a year ago and he’s got his kid to think about and, well, he’s not gay, right?  Or he might be gay and just didn’t realize it and, shit, we _live together_ and that’s a whole other problem right there and, oh man, I’m going to fuck this one up before it even starts, aren’t I?”

His voice is suddenly panicky and Danneel comes around the side of the counter to wrap her arms around him in the tightest squeeze she can manage. “Do you like him?”

Jensen closes his eyes for a second, pictures Jared’s lips red from his kisses, his hands on Jensen’s hips. “Yeah, Danni, I do. So much.”

“Well then, you need to woo him,” she insists and he can feel her kewpie-doll dimpled smile against his ear.

Jensen snorts and, oh god, he’s been around Chris too long too. “Woo him? He’s not a Disney princess, Danneel, even if he does wear a lot of pink.”

Danneel slaps him on the back of the head and goes to the fridge to pull out some eggs. “He’s just a person who is liked by another person.  It doesn’t make him a _girl_ ” --she makes scare quotes and rolls her eyes-- “to have the person who likes him show him how much.”

Jensen narrows his eyes and looks at her, contemplating what she just said. “Are you going to make me an omelet?”

She pours him another cup of coffee and practically fondles his mug. She blinks a little as she sees whatever the hell she is seeing and smiles like a cat. “You going to woo your man?”

“If I say yes will you stop living vicariously through my coffee mug?”

“I might stop for the moment but I have no way of knowing what I’ll do once you’re out of the room.”

“Fair enough,” Jensen laughs and throws a dish rag at her as she grins and goes back to cracking eggs.

 

 **++++++**

So Jensen decides to woo Jared.

He doesn’t know what that means exactly, which is probably for the best, because being conscious of what he’s doing would probably make him even more nervous than he already is.  He just starts…showing up. Being where Jared is and in his space. Jensen worries that it’s going to be too much, but Jared just smiles that stupid smile and lets their shoulders or thighs touch and Jensen realizes that maybe what they’re doing is okay.

Jensen uses his day off a few weeks after the kiss to meet Jared when he gets off the early shift in the late afternoon. He convinced Danneel (the world’s best co-conspirator) to pick up Kat from her after school care and is waiting for Jared when he stumbles out of the vet’s office, still in just a hoodie even though it’s late November.  Jared looks at him strangely, but the hint of dimples is there so Jensen just grabs him by the hand and drags him off for coffee at a nearby café.

Jared’s worked in Astoria for years but has never been to the Moving Images Museum so Jensen insists they have to go and take advantage of the free admission after 4pm on Fridays. It takes Jared a half-second look at the original Chewbacca mask before he is leaning into Jensen’s side and looking at him like he wants to nuzzle him. Jensen can’t remember ever wearing a sillier grin. Then Jared leans in and presses a chaste kiss to the corner of that grin and it gets even sillier.

A week later, in the early flush of December, Jensen decides to be as corny as he possibly can be and asks Jared if he wants to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree. Kat happens to be coming into the kitchen to ask for a late night glass of water and nearly throws herself at Jensen’s legs at the very suggestion.

“So, I think that’s a yes,” Jared laughs and Jensen scoops Kat up in his arms before laughing along with him.

The only problem with his plan, Jensen thinks as he wobbles around the edge of The Rink the next evening, is that he hasn’t been ice skating since the early days in New York when Gen was still doing performance art for Tisch credits and decided that doing an unrehearsed and barefooted interpretive dance in circles around him and Danneel was part of her “vision.” The parents of the eight-year-olds around them didn’t appreciate it nearly as much as Misha, who hadn’t yet decided his life’s goal was to sit in his house and talk to his penis while filling vitamin orders for hippies in the Northwest.

“You kinda suck at this, don’t you?” Jared smirks and leans back against the railing underneath the gold Prometheus statue.

“Hey, you suck too!” Jensen pouts, clutching on to the railing for dear life as his ankles threaten to give out.

Jared barks out a laugh and nods easily. “I can’t disagree with you on that one. “

“Kat’s a little ice princess though,” Jensen says, as he gestures towards her skating happily in circles a few feet in front of them. Her cheeks are pink from the cold and she looks as happy as Jensen has seen her since she and Jared moved in.

Jared swallows hard and Jensen’s attention is drawn back to his face. “Yeah, Sandy took skating lessons for years when she was young. She taught Kat how when she was real little. We used to come out here every year to see the tree.”

Jensen’s entire face flushes and he is suddenly mortified. “Jared, I’m so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn’t have asked you to come.”

Jared looks surprised for a minute until he realizes what Jensen is saying. “Oh, no, Jensen, seriously, it’s fine. Those memories are happy ones. I think it’s good for Kat and I to keep up with tradition.”

“Even if it’s not exactly the same?” Jensen asks, his voice suddenly low and weighted.

Jared turns his body into his. “Just because things aren’t the same, doesn’t mean they can’t be just as good.” Jared closes his eyes for a second and leans in to whisper in Jensen’s ear. “Or better.”

Kat skates over to them then and grabs a startled Jensen’s hand, pulling him farther out onto the ice.

“C’mon, Jensen, I’ll show you how, it’s easy!” she sing-songs, dropping his hand and skating in circles around him as he tries to not fall on his ass.

“Yeah, Jen, it’s easy!” Jared hollers at them and Jensen shoots him what he hopes is his most withering stare. Jared just grins back at him and Jensen almost falls over from the force of the dimplage.

Jensen manages to stay up for the next half hour and Jared gets his comeuppance by falling at least twice on his (perfect) backside as Jensen and Kat laugh with schadenfreude. Afterwards, they drink hot chocolate from a nearby cart before they take in the sixty-five foot Norway Spruce lighting up the entire block. Jared has Kat in one arm, her head tucked against his neck, and his other arm snakes around Jensen’s waist, pulling him close. Jensen looks up and his eyes meet Jared’s and as sappy as it is, there is a moment that even Disney couldn’t do justice to. Jared smiles at him softly and Jensen doesn’t even feel the cold.

 

 **++++++**

After that night it’s like the floodgates are opened.

Suddenly it’s stolen kisses in the hallway after tucking Kat into bed.  Hands that don’t go beneath clothing but groins that press against each other through denim like magnets. Waiting and wanting. Jared enjoys the tension and wonders if the anticipation is almost better than any of the real acts themselves.

He finds how ridiculous that thought is as he’s getting out of the shower one Tuesday evening. He’s standing there buck naked, water still dripping from his torso as he runs a towel through his shaggy hair. He feels a fully-clothed body pressed up against his back and gasps as he realizes who it is.

“Let me, okay, just let me, please,” Jensen whispers hotly in his ear and all Jared can bring himself to do is meet his eyes in the mirror and give a small nod.

Jensen drops to his knees immediately and turns Jared around to face him. Jared’s cock goes from interested to _hell yes_ in 0.2 seconds.

Everything in Jared’s world goes suddenly still as he looks down at Jensen on his knees for him. Jensen looks up at him through his lashes, one hand curled loosely around Jared’s cock, which is just an inch away from that hot mouth. He’s asking Jared for permission, one last time, and Jared stutters out a “do it” while releasing any last doubts about his newly recognized homosexuality.

Jensen’s tongue licks a path up the underside of Jared’s cock, its tantalizing slowness counteracting the almost frantic tension spinning around them. He flattens it when he gets towards the crown, before taking just the head between his lips and sucking hard. Suddenly, he takes Jared about halfway down in one sharp move, before trailing back up slowly and continuing the sucking motion. He repeats this enough times that when on the next trip down he takes Jared flush against the back of his throat, Jared’s knees almost give out.

“Jensen, oh god, Jen,” Jared covers his mouth with the wet towel to stifle his moans.

Saliva is dripping down the sides of Jensen’s mouth and Jared wants to die at how hot he looks. Jared is a proportional guy and the fact that Jensen can deep-throat him is making him shake all over. Sandy, as much as she tried, could barely get halfway down and her hands were tiny and smooth. Jensen’s hands, however, are big and calloused and nerve endings Jared didn’t even know he had are firing off frantically.

“Fuck my face, Jared, come on, I need it,” Jensen groans around his dick and that almost makes Jared come by itself. He grabs Jared’s hands and curls them into his hair, giving him explicit permission to use his mouth any way he needs to.

Clenching the towel between his teeth, he grasps the sides of Jensen’s head and takes what he’s offering. His thrusts become frantic and Jared doesn’t even recognize himself as he forces his cock as deeply as Jensen can take and then some. He doesn’t even bother warning Jensen before coming deep down his throat. Jensen just suckles him clean, come and spit spilling out of the corners of his mouth. He uses his fingers to push anything he missed back into his mouth and looks up at Jared, completely debauched.

“Do you…should I?” Jared mumbles, words failing him. The towel drops to the floor.

Jensen stands up and takes Jared’s hand to press against his own crotch, where the denim is wet from his orgasm. “No need,” he murmurs, kissing Jared with lips that taste of his own come and leaving the bathroom as quickly as he appeared.

 

 **++++++**

Jared pushes the mute button first. Just in case. For some reason the thought of Jensen hearing what he’s about to do, just knowing what inspired it, is enough to both harden Jared’s dick and make him flush red with humiliation.

It doesn’t matter that not three days earlier Jensen had Jared’s dick halfway down his throat. Well, maybe that does matter. Maybe that’s half the reason that Jared’s laptop is loaded up (but muted, thank god) on a suspiciously gaudy-looking gay porn site.

Jared sits on his bed and looks around with only a slightly frantic air at his preparations. Laptop mounted on a wooden tray usually used for eating food in bed, and fuck if that isn’t kind of twisted. Comforter strewn across the floor, to avoid having to wash it in case things get...messy. Unopened tube of K-Y, the little “Gelée” on the front glaring at him all twee and French.

Jared gulps.

He doesn’t know exactly why he bought that. He’s always just used spit to jack off or, back in the day, papaya-scented lotion that reminded him of Sandy’s shampoo. The first time he tried using that after she died he ended up crying for fifteen minutes with one hand around his limp dick and the other covering his mouth so Kat wouldn’t hear.

He shoves the lube under his pillow and tries to ignore it. Before he loses his courage, he starts scrolling through the videos on the site. An ad with a tanned, pillow-lipped teenager _(oh shit)_ with a completely shaved body pops up and Jared is so startled he almost falls off the bed. Thank god for the mute button because it looks like the guy is mouthing utterly filthy things as he rubs his hairless cock.

Jared clicks the “amateur” tab and calms a little as the ad disappears.  He doesn’t know what he’s looking for exactly, as he clicks page two and keeps bypassing all the videos he’s barely glancing at. Finally, on page four, and just when he’s going to slam the laptop shut and go to sleep, he sees a freeze frame of  a guy in profile with broad shoulders, spiky dirty blond hair, and a perfect nose.  He clicks it before he knows what he’s doing and it starts wordlessly.

Jared glances at the title—“Hot Frat Boy’s First Ass Pounding!”—and wishes he hadn’t as he cringes a little. But then he glances back at the screen and for a moment, with the dark lighting and the lack of sound, the figure on the screen could be Jensen’s doppelganger. The man runs his hand lightly over the thigh of someone offscreen, fingers prickling the smattering of hair, nails dragging up towards the other man’s slowly unveiled balls. The fake-Jensen takes the hidden man’s balls in his hand and rolls them gently around before leaning down to kiss them. One kiss, just a peck, that he then repeats over and over again until the entire landscape of silken flesh is ordained and they pull tight with lust. Fake-Jensen doesn’t look at the camera, just at the hidden face of his lover as he lowers himself down and licks a stripe along the bottom side of the dick in front of him.

Jared’s so fucking hard he can barely manage to get the elastic of his boxers over his cock. He doesn’t touch himself yet, though, just sits there with only the light of the computer, watching someone mimic what the person on the other side of the wall gave him not three days prior.

The fake-Jensen is moving down now, his perfect nose tracing an Eskimo kiss to the other man’s balls as his tongue flicks languidly against the man’s hole.

Jared bites his bottom lip as fake-Jensen pries the small opening with only the tip of his tongue, his hands grasping at the man’s thighs to hold them open for him. By the time the entire muscle pushes inside and half of fake-Jensen’s profile is lost between the V of the man’s legs, Jared is stroking himself, hand dry and slightly painful.

 The other man finally enters the frame and he is mumbling muted words as he thrusts his hips up into the fake-Jensen’s face.  The man’s face is red and he’s sweating, and Jared can feel his own sweat pool at his temples as he pulls the K-Y out from under the pillow and slathers his fingers without thinking.

The fake-Jensen is sitting up now and his face is covered in spit. He sucks his fingers into his own mouth and then brings them back to his lover’s ass to replace where his tongue had just been. Jared presses his lips together as he mimics him without thinking, sliding his own index fingers along his perineum and then pressing the tip inside his hole. Jared gasps a little as he gets all the way to the second knuckle and then adds a second finger without hesitation as the Fake-Jensen does the same thing to the other man on the computer screen.

Jared falls into the same rhythm as the fake-Jensen, plunging in when he does, twisting when he twists. He hits what he figures is his prostate and can’t help crying out a little bit just as the other man does the same.

But then Jared closes his eyes and throws his head back against his pillow. The fingers of one hand keep stroking in and out frantically, but the other hand now rises to his lips and slips inside his mouth. He pictures the real Jensen on his knees, Jared’s cock hot against his tongue. He pictures the reverse, him on his knees for Jensen , how the weight of his dick would feel, how heavy, how warm. Jared starts twirling his tongue around his three of his fingers then, imaging they were Jensen’s cock. He forgets the video altogether as he fingers himself from both ends, his mind full of Jensen, his body wanting to be full of Jensen.

He comes all over himself without even touching his dick the minute he remembers how Jensen whispered “please” with such desperation.

His hands pull free instantly and fall to the side of him as Jared breathes heavy and tilts his head back to stare at the wall separating them.

 

 **++++++**

Jensen has never been in love before.  He has spent half his life hiding what he is from the world, even when he consciously draws on his powers. His job as a massage therapist, while involving interaction with many different people, allows him to be silent and wallow in low light and soft music. It is social interaction without the social aspect. He uses his hands to make people feel better and more relaxed, but it is safe and shielded.

While none of his roommates are exactly like him, they are all outsiders in some (pretty extreme) way. They understand him and respect him for who and what he is, and for that he will be forever grateful.  He’s had boyfriends before, but he tries to wall his emotions away so that he never has to get close enough to explain what it means to be born a freak of nature. 

Then he met Jared.

Jensen doesn’t know how he fell so hard for Jared, but he has and although it should terrify him, it only fills him with this feeling of endless joy and hope. For the first time since his parents died, Jensen doesn’t want to be alone.

The entire group is gathered in the living room on December 24th. They decided to have a joint Christmas/Winter Solstice celebration this year but Kat insisted they had to have a tree.

“Why do you have to have an angel on top? What did an angel ever do for you, little Miss Katherine?” Misha insists from his spot on his recliner.

“Yeah, angels are creepy,” Gen murmurs, curled into his side snugly.

“She has pretty hair, duh,” Kat responds and even Jensen has to agree with her on that one.

“Well if that’s all it takes, then we should put your father on top of the tree instead,” Misha smirks as Jared shoots him his best menacing look.

Kat yawns then and Jared sits up from his spot on the couch to usher her towards bed.

“Can Jensen tuck me in tonight, Daddy?” she asks, peering over at Jensen.

Jared shoots him an inquiring look and Jensen just shrugs. “Sure, Kat, I’ll tuck you in.”

He lifts her up into her canopy bed once they’re inside her room and pulls the down comforter over her. She’s already in her usual Thundercats pajamas with brushed teeth and combed hair. Jensen is struck by how beautiful she is, with her big brown eyes and chubby dimpled cheeks. He feels an affection for her that he didn’t quite know he could feel, and he knows part of it is the undercurrent of power he feels simmering within her. He hopes that he can help her one day if it ever decides to show itself.

“Want me to read you a story, Kat?” Jensen asks, climbing into bed next to her and tucking her into his side.

“Can we just talk for a second?” she asks, snuggling close to his chest.

“Of course, honey, what do you want to talk about?”

“Chris makes Danni really happy, right Jensen?” she starts, looking at him for an answer.

He nods slowly. “Yeah he sure does, and Danni makes Chris happy too.”

“Yeah, of course she does,” Kat agrees and keeps going. “And Misha and Gen make each other happy, even if they show it in a weird way.”

Jensen laughs softly. “Yeah, they can be weird sometimes, but they do make each other happy.”

“Can you make my Daddy happy like that, Jensen?”

He breath catches in his throat for a second and he swallows hard. “What makes you think he’s not happy already? He’s got you and you make him very happy.”

Kat looks up at him with solemn eyes that are too old for her. “Daddy’s always been sad. Even when Mommy was alive. “

He brushes a hand down her chestnut hair, breathing in the scent of Johnson & Johnson shampoo. “What makes you think that I can make him happy, Kat?”

She smiles then, a twisty little one. “You already do, Jensen.“

Jensen just stops the tear that wants to leave his eye. “Okay, Kat, I’ll try to make him very happy.”

She lets out a content little noise before snuggling into her pillow. “Thanks, Jenny.”

“Thank you, Miss Kitty,” he replies, kissing her on the forehead and turning off her light before heading out of her room.

Jared is hovering in the hallway, halfway between Kat’s room and his own. He looks a little unsure and Jensen goes over to reassure him. He wraps an arm around Jared’s waist and leans up for a kiss.

“I want you to spend the night with me tonight, Jared,” Jensen whispers against his lips.

Jared looks a little surprised. They haven’t done much more than that frantic post-shower blowjob and have definitely not actually slept together. “But Kat….”

Jensen grins. “Trust me, Kat won’t mind.”

Jared looks at his coy expression and returns the smile before looking nervous again. “Are you sure? This is…a big deal.”

“Jared Padalecki, if you don’t fuck me tonight then you aren’t getting any of your presents tomorrow,” Jensen growls against his lips, his arms wrapping around him and his dick bumping his like a threat and a promise.

Jared fucking swallows again and Jensen wants to suck on his Adam’s apple.

“Yeah, yeah okay. I can definitely do that,” Jared mumbles, reaching down to clutch Jensen’s ass with those big hands.

They have to wait another two excruciating hours before everyone heads off to bed and by that time the anticipation is almost unbearable. They decide to stay in Jared’s bedroom just in case Kat wakes up in the middle of the night and comes looking for him. When they finally tumble into the room it’s like a dam has broken and they start pulling articles of clothing off like they are on fire. Within a minute they are tumbling down onto Jared’s California King, their naked bodies tangled up together.  They kiss frantically for long minutes before Jensen pulls back to catch his breath.

“Hey, slow down, we have all night,” Jensen whispers, stroking a hand down Jared’s cheek, which flushes lightly at the words.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous,” Jared responds, pressing his face into Jensen’s neck and kissing the underside of his ear gently.

Jensen smoothes his hands down Jared’s back, feeling the tension in his muscles release instantly. “It’s okay, it’s just me.”

Jared brushes his mouth with his own and chuckles. “Yeah, exactly, that’s why I’m nervous.”

Jensen shushes him by rolling his tongue into his mouth. Before long they are sharing the same air as their tongues tangle together like one single muscle.

“How do…” Jared mumbles after another moment and Jensen realizes what he’s asking.

“I’ll bottom this time. It’ll be easier for you since it’s your first time,” Jensen insists and sees a mixture of relief, lust, and slight disappointment all flicker across Jared’s gaze.

“You sure?” Jared asks, trying to keep his voice steady.

Jensen bites down on Jared’s lower lip and wraps his leg over his hip. “Don’t worry, I’ll fuck you next time, you can count on that.”

Jared makes what can only be described as a whimper and Jensen laughs before wrapping his arms around him and pulling him against his body into a slow grind. Jared’s cock is hard and red and dripping precome across his belly and Jensen revels in the fact that he’s going to have that inside of him soon.

“Do you have any stuff?” Jensen asks, glancing over at Jared’s nightstand.  Jared looks a little startled, but reaches over to grab a half-full tube of K-Y out of the drawer. Jensen raises an amused eyebrow and Jared blushes.

“I might have started watching some gay porn. You know, just to see. And I maybe experimented a little bit,” Jared mumbles quickly, the words jumbling together.

“Fuck,” Jensen groans, pressing a palm down on his own excited cock so that he won’t come at just the thought of Jared fingering himself while watching, hopefully thinking about him.

“I was thinking about you every time,” Jared confirms, bending down to bite at Jensen’s nipples.

“Oh god, Jared, you’re gonna make me come,” Jensen laughs breathlessly, arching into Jared’s mouth and twisting his hips so his cock brushes Jared’s.

Even though it’s counterproductive to the whole not-coming thing, Jensen takes the tube of lube out of Jared’s hand and squeezes some onto his own fingers. Using one hand to fist in Jared’s hair, he uses the other to reach back and start rubbing against his own entrance.

“Jensen,” Jared gasps, trying to look down at what Jensen is doing, but Jensen’s hand in his hair is holding his gaze locked on his face.

“I’ve wanted you since the moment I first opened the door, Jared,” Jensen admits, sliding one finger inside himself and then another. He breathes against Jared’s mouth as he fucks himself down on his fingers and Jared looks frantic with lust.

“Let me Jensen, I need to touch you so fucking bad.”

Jensen nods quickly in agreement and Jared squeezes more of the gel over his fingers and slides his hand down Jensen’s ass to join the two already in him. Jensen keeps pumping himself and lets Jared’s middle and index finger join them until they are fucking practically a whole hand into his ass. The sounds of squelching and the mingled panting fill the room and it’s intoxicating.

Pain has always been a transient thing in Jensen’s life, his body healing itself before it gets a real chance to feel it. But right now all he wants is to be able to feel the pain and have it last. To wake up in Jared’s bed with Jared’s bruises on his skin, with an ache in his ass that Jared put there. He knows it’s a futile wish, that in the morning he’ll wake up with a body as unblemished as a newborn’s, but oh how he wants to feel every single part of it in this moment.

“I’m ready, Jared, come on, fuck me, please,” Jensen pleads, pulling his fingers out and clutching Jared’s biceps.

Jared looks stunned for a moment before looking back at his nightstand and cursing. “Um, I don’t have any. Shit. I’ve only ever been with Sandy, I don’t have anything, I swear.”

Jensen realizes he’s talking about condoms and almost laughs. How do you tell someone that you’ve never had so much as a cold in your entire life, much less an STD? That your body has the magical skill to heal itself beyond the comprehension of a mere immune system? He decides to bypass that part.

Jensen puts his mouth directly next to Jared’s ear and tells him exactly what he wants in a low, lust-filled voice. “Jared, I want you to fuck me as hard as you can and then when your come is dripping down my thighs I want you to roll me over and use it as lube to fuck me again.”

The he pushes Jared down and climbs on top of him, sliding down on his cock in one smooth motion until Jared’s seated completely inside of him.

They groan in unison and Jensen feels like he’s going to die in the best possible fucking way.

“Jensen, fuck,” Jared hisses, clutching Jensen’s hips in a way that on anyone else would leave marks. Jensen drops his hands down on Jared’s chest, sliding in the sweat, and uses his fingers like claws to anchor himself enough to start riding him for real.

Jared soon gets with the program and plants his feet on the bed so he can thrust up every time Jensen is on the down stroke. Jensen angles himself just right for Jared to hit his prostate nearly every time and he throws his head back in rapturous abandon.

“Oh god, Jensen, I’m gonna,” Jared gasps, taking one hand off one hip to wrap around Jensen’s painfully red cock.

“Yeah, Jared, go ahead, come inside me, come on, I want it,” Jensen grits out, feeling his own orgasm bubble up his pelvis before he comes all over Jared’s hand and chest. His muscles squeeze and flutter  around Jared’s dick and with a groan he just manages to stifle, Jared comes deep inside Jensen’s ass.

Jensen collapses onto Jared’s chest and they pant in unison for long seconds before Jared rolls him over and growls into his mouth. “You remember what you said, right?”

Jensen feels Jared’s cock inexplicably start to fill again while still inside him. The way is slick with lube and come and the glide is smooth yet stinging.  “Yeah, fuck Jared, I knew you be good at this gay sex thing.”

Jared laughs happily into his mouth before slamming his dick as deep inside Jensen as he can possibly go and grinding down.  He catches Jensen’s moans with his lips before he wakes the whole house.

“You gotta be more quiet,” Jared says with a feral grin as he pulls up and starts fingering where they are connected. Jensen’s ass is stretched bright pink and taut around his cock and as he slowly pushes in and out he sees thick white come dribbling down the sides.

“God Jensen, you are so fucking hot,” Jared breathes, sliding his finger past the tight muscle and alongside his dick, in and out.

Jensen grunts, but pushes back on it desperately.

“Yeah, that’s right, you can take it, fuck,” Jared says in awe, slipping in a second finger and pressing up on Jensen’s prostate as he fucks him in shallow thrusts.

It should hurt, goddamn it, it should, but nothing but shocky pleasure washes over Jensen as he comes across his belly for the second time. His ass clutches tightly around the mixture of Jared’s cock and fingers, and Jared can just barely get the fingers out before he drops his full body weight onto Jensen and fucks him brutally with absolutely no rhythm until he shoots a second load of come inside his body.

Jared rolls off Jensen before he crushes him, but pulls him tight to his body. “Guess the gay porn worked,” he laughs.

Jensen’s brain refuses to catch up so he just mumbles “erm, um” and snuggles as close to Jared as physically possible.

“Jensen,” Jared says, before pausing.

The fuzz is Jensen’s brain clears a bit. “Yeah, Jared?”

Jared reaches down to kiss Jensen’s forehead. “Nothing, just…thanks.”

Jensen thinks he wants to say more. Thinks he wants to say what Jensen wants to say. But he doesn’t say it and it’s okay. Tonight they have this and this is enough.

Jensen smiles against the curve of Jared’s neck.

 

 **++++++**

 “The creativity is this house is sorely lacking,” Misha deadpans, as he opens the third box containing pants that don’t belong in a costume shop.

“I think coming home from work and seeing you in a hula skirt was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me, dude,” Jared points out.

“You’re just upset that I wouldn’t give you my coconuts.”

“Yes, Misha, but how else am I gonna get lei’d?”

The entire room groans and pillows are tossed at Jared’s head as he laughs and attempts to dodge.

“Daddy, what’s get lei’d mean?” Kat demands, looking up from her new watercolor set.

“Such a bad influence, Jared,” Misha reprimands mockingly and smirks as he wraps the silk kimono snug against himself.

“Kat, stop listening to us when we talk and open your presents,” Jared insists, ignoring Misha and thrusting another gift at his daughter to distract her.

“Clever diversionary tactics,” Jensen grins, leaning over and hesitating a moment before placing a quick kiss on the corner of Jared’s mouth.

Jared smiles back and doesn’t even mind the catcalls from across the room. Kat is all teeth and dimples, and that’s good enough for him.

The doorbell rings then and they look at each other in surprise. Who could be stopping by at 10AM on Christmas morning? Chad is with his parents, but it’s the best possibility so Jared gets up to go answer it. He pulls open the door expecting a face full of Murray, but sees a messenger instead.

“I have a gift for Katherine Padalecki,” the messenger reads the slip of paper in his hand, mangling their surname badly.

Jared looks at him in surprise. “Does it say who it’s from?”

The messenger shrugs, obviously bored and not terribly excited about working on Christmas morning. “Nope. Sign here.”

Jared signs for the small package and goes back into the living room. “Kat, I think maybe your grandparents sent you a present. “

“Another present! Give it to me Daddy, pleeaaaaase,” she squeals, grabbing at the package before he has a chance to inspect it. She rips it open and spies a small jewelry box.  Inside is a locket and she just manages to get the clasp undone to see what is inside.

“What’s in there, Kit-Kat? Let me see,” Jared insists, frowning at how still Kat has become. She is pressing her thumb over whatever is in the locket and standing frozen to the spot.

“Kat,” Jensen says, his voice suddenly deeper as he stands up from his spot on the floor next to the couch.

“Daddy, I don’t feel too good,” Kat whispers hoarsely.

Suddenly  the entire room erupts in chaos.

“Holy shit!” Chris hollers as the clock on the mantel flies towards his head with barely an inch to spare. Pillows and gift boxes are flying every which way like the room is the eye of a tornado. The dogs are barking hysterically and running around in useless circles.

“Jensen, stop her!” Danneel screams and Jared is utterly confused by what that is supposed to mean. He tries to get to his daughter, but books from the bookcase start flying furiously at him and knock him sideways.

“Kat!” he yells and there is a high pitched whirring noise in the room like a giant machine is grinding around them. Objects are flying and he can barely see Jensen dropping down beside Kat to lay his hands on her shoulders. After a moment, everything abruptly stops. The flying objects fall to the ground, the noise stops, and Kat is staring directly in Jensen’s eyes like a zombie, tear tracks on her face.

Jared looks around, eyes wild. He runs to his daughter and drops down next to her, but she looks solely at Jensen.

“Jensen, what is going on? Kat, baby, look at Daddy,” Jared begs and he has no idea what to do. He looks at the roommates, who are all in varying stages of shock and distress. Danneel and Chris keep looking at each other and Misha almost looks guilty.

Rage fills Jared. “Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on!”

“She manifested,” Jensen says, so softly that Jared can barely hear him. His gaze remains locked on Kat like they have some kind of strange connection.

“What the hell does that mean?” Jared chokes and his head feels like it’s on fire. Every neuron in his brain is firing and telling him to get the fuck away from this living room, from this house, and from these people.

Jensen finally looks at him, while still keeping his hands firmly on Kat’s shoulders. His eyes are so sad and weary that it’s like he’s aged twenty years in the past three minutes. “Jared, what I’m about to tell you is going to be hard for you to understand, but you have to know that I never meant to hurt you.”

“Jensen, what the hell is going on,” Jared whispers, moving back and forth between hurt and anger at lightning fast speeds.

“Kat just manifested her powers. She’s probably a telekinetic. I’m an empath, with healing abilities both for myself and other people. Danni’s psychometric. Misha’s just odd.” Jensen tries for levity, but his voice cracks and Jared is horrified.

Jared grabs Kat roughly in his arms and backs away from all of them. He looks around like a caged animal. “This is crazy, you people are crazy.”

Jensen flinches and Jared wants to feel bad but he’s holding his daughter in his arms and something terrible is happening to her and there is no part of Jared’s brain that is able to comprehend any of it.

“Jared, it’s gonna be okay, we’ll help her,” Danneel steps forward, holding her hand out to try and touch him but he jerks away. He’s still holding Kat against his chest like a shield and starts shaking when he realizes how limp she is, even if her eyes are open and aware.

“Oh my god, you did this to her,” Jared cries out as realization dawns. “You put some kind of freaky spell on her. And me...oh god, Jensen all of this was a trick, some sick game. Everything I feel is some freaky mind trick. Oh my god, what did you do to us?”

Jensen is crying and Jared feels a pang deep inside of himself that he pushes aside. Jensen lied to him, betrayed him, tried to turn his child into an abomination.

“Jared, please. Just listen to me. It wasn’t a trick. It’s all real. I love you Jared, I love Kat, please listen to me,” Jensen pleads and tries to come towards him again.

Jared shakes his head violently and starts backing out of the room. “I won’t let you turn my daughter into a freak like you,” he bites out and is out the front door before he registers the sob coming from the next room.

 

 **++++++**

Jensen manifested the week before his parents died.

The boy’s name was Justin. His hair was bleached blond from the Texas sun and he had a little cleft in his chin that Jensen would stare at in English class. He was on the debate team and played the lead in the school play and was the subject of many a classmate’s dreams.

Justin kissed Jensen behind the bleachers one late Tuesday afternoon. It was late spring of his freshman year and the air had just started tipping itself into lazy humidity. Justin’s hand curled itself around Jensen’s neck and Jensen was shocked enough to let his mouth fall open. Justin was a year older than him, and his tongue felt like it knew where it was going as it slipped itself in and licked Jensen’s teeth.

It was Jensen’s first kiss and although it probably only lasted seconds, Jensen felt like the earth had stopped moving on its axis. Justin pulled back and smiled against his mouth, and Jensen didn’t think anything would ever be better.

A minute later, Justin quirked him a grin and turned to head off. He was stopped by a hand on his chest and a hissed out “fucking fag!” as Rick the Meathead from the football team decided to start pummeling Justin’s face.

Jensen, to his everlasting shame, hid terrified behind the bleachers as Rick kicked Justin in the ribs one last time before spitting on him and running off.

Electricity flowed through Jensen’s veins then as he crawled his way over to Justin’s broken body. It was like every single nerve ending in Jensen’s body was on fire and the only thing that seemed to make sense was to curl himself around Justin, who was lying there in the grass.

A few minutes later, Justin sat up, his eyes stunned. The blood was still there on his face, but there were no cuts for it to have come from. Justin touched his ribs gingerly and then pressed, as if he couldn’t understand why they didn’t hurt anymore. He started backing away from Jensen, not standing yet, just slinking back like Jensen was poison.

Jensen lay there, a lethargy he had never felt before rushing over him, like touching Justin had drained all of his energy.

“Justin,” he croaked out, and even his voice sounded wrecked.

Justin jumped up and ran away. Jensen never saw him again.

Jensen went home and sobbed in his mother’s arms as she told him that he was wonderful and special and their perfect little boy. His father came in an hour later and together they calmly explained their family legacy, the power that ran in their blood and the blood of their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before them. His father said that they had thought that maybe Jensen would never manifest, that he was older than anyone else before him. They smiled at each other and then at Jensen and stroked his hair like this thing that made Justin look at him like a freak was actually something positive.

They let him stay home from school the rest of that week and then come Monday, they pushed the limits of their own powers and were dead, leaving Jensen with nothing.

Jensen tried to slit his own wrists that same night, but the skin healed over before he could get too deep so instead he just hid in his bedroom and cried until Child Protective Services came and got him.

The Kane family took him in as a foster a few weeks later. He barely spoke more than three words at a time and refused to touch anyone, scared that they would know just from that, like they could feel the freak through his skin. School was almost out for the year and they were in a different district than his old one anyway, so they let him be. Mrs. Kane would make him pancakes when he stumbled out of his room at noon and only hummed a little when Jensen flinched back from her touch. Mr. Kane waited a month to ask him if he wanted to help him clean out the shed, and Jensen nodded because staring at the ceiling in his room was getting exhausting and he thought some solid physical work would help numb him.

Jensen smashed his finger a week later helping Mr. Kane build a birdhouse for the backyard and didn’t realize that Chris was standing there watching the wound stitch itself back together.

“That’s a neat trick there,” Chris drawled. His face was clear then, no ink to cover his skin, his eyes bright blue under normal, unridged brows, no synthetic whiskers around his heart shaped mouth. He was just a normal fifteen year old kid then, not a jungle cat, or an artist, or Jensen’s best friend.

Jensen’s face twisted with panic and he looked around in an attempt to find somewhere to run.

Chris’ face morphed then into something that wasn’t quite pity. “So, if you want to talk about it sometime, you know where to find me. “

Jensen laughed then, for the first time in weeks. “You mean in the room next to mine?”

Chris smiled brightly at that and Jensen realized that was the longest sentence he’d spoken since he arrived at the Kanes’ front door. Chris patted Jensen on the shoulder and let his hand rest there. Jensen didn’t shrug him off and it suddenly felt like a new beginning.

Jensen didn’t use his healing powers again until their junior year at UT. Chris had already started getting work done on his face and, though Austin was a lot more liberal than the Dallas suburbs, there were still enough people there that didn’t appreciate anyone they perceived to be different. Jensen tried not to think about Justin staring at him as he healed the black eye that he could only barely see around the ink tattooed in Chris’ face.

They moved to New York the minute they graduated and Chris got an apprenticeship with a tattoo artist down on St. Marks. They met Danneel a month later in a noodle shop in Little Tokyo as they were doing shots of sake. Danneel had held up her hand to caress Chris’ face around the third shot and paused when she touched the one right in the middle of the cupid’s bow above his top lip. That was the first piece of metal Chris ever got in his face. He had carried the little round ball in his pocket for three years and would touch it every now and again like it held all the promise of what he could someday become. Danneel blinked a little as she stroked the little ball and Chris held his breath until her eyes got teary.

She explained to them years later while tipsy on Merlot that she had seen everything a teenaged Chris had hoped and dreamed when she touched that piece of metal. Jensen ached when he realized he wished that he had someone that would know him that deeply.

Danneel had met Gen back in New Orleans when Gen was going through her Tennessee Williams phase. Danneel had just gotten her acceptance letter back from NYU and Gen had always loved her alma mater, so she finagled her way into one more try. Jensen never did figure out how she managed that but computer hacking seemed to be among Gen’s many talents, alongside debating quantum psychics and tormenting him.

Gen liked to stand in Union Square on weekends and sing songs that Josephine Baker taught her that decade she had spent bumming around Paris. Misha liked to sit on the bench and stare at her as she shimmied along to the music. Danneel dragged Jensen and Chris down to “support” Gen the day that Misha got on one knee and proposed with one of the leather bracelets he bought off one the nearby craft stands that had set up shop next to the Greenmarket’s vegetable sellers. Gen just snorted (she’d been hanging around Chris too much lately), pulled Misha to his feet, and invited him out with them.

A month later they sat in the Beer Garden on wooden benches eating potato pancakes smothered in sour cream and drinking Pilsner.

“I’m a vampire,” Gen had announced.

Everyone had gotten quiet suddenly. With a shrug, Gen let her fangs lengthen and rubbed her tongue against them. “See?”

“I’m psychometric. I can see things when I touch an object,” Danneel added as she wrapped her fingers lightly around Gen’s in solidarity.

Jensen’s stomach had flipped over, the pancakes suddenly heavy in his belly. Chris looked at him expectantly.

“I can heal people,” Jensen said, his voice low. “And myself, I can heal myself.”

He had never said it out loud before and the confession felt weird on his tongue.

“My penis hates unnatural fiber,” Misha had added then, breaking the tension as he glared down with disdain at his jeans and ridiculously chunky blue sweater.

They were still laughing a few hours later when Jensen realized he finally had a family again.

 

++++++++

 

“You did everything you could, Jen,” Misha insists, absolutely serious for the first time in what seems like years. He’s leaning against the kitchen counter nursing a wheatgrass smoothie and eyeing Jensen with sad eyes.

Jensen hasn’t been able to sleep in ten days. All that he can think about is how Jared hates him. Leaving him is not even the hardest part. Jensen knows how to deal with loss, even on a most profound scale. But just thinking that Jared is out there somewhere thinking that everything they shared was just some spell or trick….it’s too much for Jensen to bear.

“He doesn’t know how to deal with her, Misha. She needs someone that understands her powers and how to help her learn to use them properly,” Jensen says, his voice gravelly from disuse. He rubs a hand over his face and notices vaguely that he really needs to shave if he ever feels like being normal again.

 _Ha, normal. What a fucking joke._

The house phone rings and he scowls at the noise. His head is pounding and even his fucking magical healing powers don’t seem to want to help out. When he had asked to feel pain he didn’t mean the emotional kind.

“Jensen!” Danneel shouts out, running into the kitchen.

Her face is pure panic and it terrifies him. “Danni, what happened? Is it Jared?”

She shakes her head frantically. “It’s Kat. That was her teacher.  They can’t get a hold of Jared. I think she manifested at school and now they can’t find her. You need to go there, Jensen, talk to them!”

“Shit, fuck, yeah, Danni, I’m going. Did you get any leads off that locket that might help us figure out who sent it?” Jensen demands.

Danneel has been working on the locket since Christmas, but there seems to be some kind of block on it. Whoever sent it obviously knows about people with abilities and doesn’t want whatever information that locket holds to get out.

“Not yet, but I will. We’ll figure it out, but you need to go,” Danneel says, squeezing him into a quick hug before pushing him towards the door.

Jensen tries not to run any red lights getting to the school and runs into the office where Julie is gathered with a man Jensen assumes is the principal.

“Hi, I’m Jensen, Jared’s roommate,” Jensen says and it’s a lie at this point, but it’s the only thing that will help now.

“Oh, you’re Jensen. Kat talks about you all the time,” Julie says and she flushes which means she knows exactly what he is to Jared.

 _Was._ Was to Jared. Past tense.

“You said you couldn’t get a hold of Jared?” Jensen prompts, bringing Julie back into the conversation.

“Hi, I’m Jim Beaver, the principal,” the older man standing next to Julie introduces himself, shaking Jensen’s hand briefly. “We called his cellphone several times and his work, but we couldn’t reach him. School’s letting out in 15 minutes so we’re hoping he’ll show up to pick Kat up.”

Jensen swallows thickly. “But Kat’s not here.”

  
Jim and Julie look at each other and Julie shakes her head hesitantly. “There was an…incident at recess.”

 _Oh god._ “What kind of incident?”

Julie starts rubbing her temples furiously, like she can somehow rid herself of the memory if she tries hard enough. “It was the strangest thing. Mandy Cohen was saying something to her and then Kat went stock still in the middle of the playground. Suddenly things started flying, like there were hurricane winds blowing or something. Basketballs, sneakers that the kids took off, you name it. And all the kids were running around hysterical, but Kat just stood there completely frozen with this look in her eyes.”

Julie shivers and Jensen looks away.

“What happened to Kat after that?” he says, voice breaking a little because he knows the answer is not going to be good.

“I don’t know really. There was complete hysteria and when it was all over, she was just gone. We searched the entire school ground but we can’t find her. ”

Jim looks seriously uncomfortable, knowing the ramifications of losing a child from school property. “Jensen, I’m hoping that you can help keep Jared calm when he gets here. Then he can decide if he wants to call in the police.”

Jensen looks up quickly at that and shakes his head.  “No, don't call them. I’ll take care of Jared and we'll figure out how we should proceed.”

Julie pulls out a tiny pink sneaker and hands it to him. It’s Kat’s.  “This was on the field. It must have come off before she disappeared.”

Jensen takes the shoe and swallows hard, attempting to stay calm so he can deal with Jared when the time comes.

Ten minutes later, he gets the chance to prove that when Jared comes bounding up the stairs.

“Hey Jared,” Jensen says softly, staring at the only man he’s ever loved. Jared looks like shit, clothes rumpled, unshaven, purple smudges under his eyes. Part of Jensen is glad that Jared is suffering too, until  he remembers what he’s about to tell him.

“What are you doing here?” Jared demands through gritted teeth, his eyes murderous.

Jensen holds up his hands and approaches Jared slowly like a scared, unbroken horse.  He pitches his voice low so Julie and Jim can’t hear him. “The school called me when they couldn’t reach you. I think Kat manifested again and in the commotion she ended up missing.”

“Missing?” Jared chokes, eyes widening with disbelief as he takes in the sneaker in Jensen’s hand. “Did you do this? What did you do?”

Jensen aches in ways he didn’t know were possible. “I swear on my parents’ graves that I had nothing to do with this. I think Kat was taken, and I think it was by the same person who sent her that locket. Jared, listen to me, we think she was triggered by whatever was in it, and that it was on purpose.”

Jared is rubbing at his eyes, making them even redder than before. “God, Jensen, what did I do? This doesn’t make any sense. She’s just a little girl. She doesn’t have powers, for fuck’s sake. What does that even mean?”

Jensen’s voice turns firm. “Jared, listen to me. Your daughter is missing, but we can get her back. Danni is working the locket, as we speak. That’s what she does, what she’s good at. You need to come with me and we are going to figure out where she is and how to get her back. I promise you on my life, Jared, I’m going to get her back to you.”

Jared looks up and Jensen sees it, if only for a moment. That yearning to believe him, to trust him. It’s gone in an instant and replaced by cold steel, but it was there long enough for Jensen to know Jared’s going to come with him.

“Good, let’s go,” Jensen nods, grabbing Jared by the arm and pulling him towards the car.

Danneel rushes to them the minute they get into the house. “It’s Roché.”

Jared spins around and stares open-mouthed at her. “Sebastian Roché? The lawyer?”

“Goddamn it, I knew it,” Jensen curses, and he’s pissed off at himself. He could feel it when he shook the man’s hand months ago that something was off about him. None of this would have happened if he called the bastard out.

“Yeah, it’s him,” Danneel continues, leading them back into the living room.

“Did you see anything else? A reason? Motivation?” Jensen grills her.

 She shakes her head with frustration. “I didn’t get too much off of it because he must have put some kind of blocker on it. All I can tell you is that he has some sort of psychic ability but it’s fueled by other people’s abilities. He absorbs them, I think, I’m not too sure on the specifics yet.”

“This is so fucking nuts, I can’t believe I’m listening to this,” Jared laughs hysterically and Jensen shakes him by the shoulders.

“Jared, fucking stop it. Look me in the face and tell me that you don’t believe me. That you think I could make up something like this. Hell, look me in the face and tell me you didn’t see what Kat was able to do on Christmas,” Jensen demands and he knows he’s being harsh but they don’t have time to play games.

“Yeah, yeah okay. I don’t know what I believe, but this seems to be the only option right now, so okay,” Jared relents, but his eyes are still wary and he can’t quite look Jensen in the face.

Danneel breaks in then, pointing at the shoe that Jensen is still clutching in his hand. “Is that Kat’s shoe? Was she wearing it when she went missing?”

Jensen’s eyes get wide and he practically throws the sneaker at her. “Yes, shit, here. Can you get anything off of it?”

Danneel’s eyes flicker as she holds the shoe firmly in both hands. “Roché’s bodyguard took her. He has a power…I can feel it. Strength, I think? Super strength maybe. He must have thrown some of his energy into the shoe when he was grabbing Kat.”

“Oh my god!” Jared chokes, his shoulders trembling. Jensen puts his hand on his arm, but Jared shakes it off.

“It’s okay, she’s not hurt,” Danneel assures him. Her fingernails twist in the shoelaces and she takes a deep breath. “I can see where they took her. It’s a warehouse near the water. Long Island City. I can get us there.”

“How am I supposed to deal with this? You touch my daughter’s fucking shoe and tell me you can see some super strong maniac drag her to some random warehouse? This is insane!” Jared is yelling and Jensen wants to reassure him but he knows it would only make things worse.

“Okay, you guys done arguing now? Because now is the time we use what Danni saw to think of a plan to rescue your kid,” Chris interrupts, coming fully into the living room along with Misha and Gen.  “And, yes, we’re all going together.”

“Even me,” Misha says nervously.

Jared looks at him incredulously. “You haven’t left this house in years.”

“She’s our little girl too, Jared,” he responds softly and Jared looks stricken a moment before unshed tears fill his eyes.

“So, the plan,” Jared coughs, clearing his throat as they sit down to figure out how to save his child.

 

 **++++++**

Jared can’t believe he moved his daughter into a house full of crazy people.

Okay, maybe they are telling the truth, but either way they are all definitely stark raving mad.

His daughter is missing and all he has to go on is a chick in a caftan getting psychic visions from touching a shoe and a guy who has lied to him from the moment they met. He’s spent the last ten days living in the guest room at Chad’s parents’ house, just him and Kat snuggled together in one too-small bed. In his frantic rush out of there on Christmas he had left the dogs, with the probably insane hope that they wouldn’t be hurt. All he knew that day was that he had to get out of there, had to get his child to some semblance of safety.

As he stands outside a warehouse in Long Island City, the chill off the river freezing him down to his bones, he wonders how he managed to fail so abjectly as a father. Maybe the McCoys are right, maybe Kat is better off without him.

“I’m sorry, Sandy,” he mumbles and turns away when Jensen glances at him sadly.

Misha is in charge of step one of this utterly preposterous plan. All he knows is that it involves Misha in a HAZMAT suit convincing the single security guard (who Danneel insists is clueless) that he’s from the CDC and that he has mere moments to vacate the premises if he doesn’t want to face imminent and painful death.

Four minutes later, a man in a guard uniform comes running out of the door like he’s on fire and Misha pops his masked head out to wave them in. Jared is dumbfounded but Jensen just smirks at him as they head inside.

“Never underestimate the power of Misha’s persuasion,” Jensen insists, as Misha pulls off the head of his suit and fans himself.

“God, my penis is fucking dying,” Misha grunts as ineloquently as Jared has ever heard him.

They head down a long, eerily quiet hallway. Danneel told them back at the house that Roché only bothers to have his one bodyguard protecting him. She guesses he figures he only needs the one because of the man’s super strength. Jared hopes that the man’s hubris will ultimately wind up helping them get Kat back.

Step two is getting over an elaborate series of lasers that seemingly trigger an alarm system. Jared discovered that Chris’ “swing” is really a suspension unit that Chris uses to hang himself from hooks in the ceiling. As gruesome as the idea is, the years of working with the technical side of the pulley system for safety reasons give Chris plenty of experience necessary to complete phase two.

 Jared and Jensen working together manage to prop Chris up enough so he can crawl into the vent in the ceiling above them and rig up a makeshift hanging bridge. Then he straps a harness to himself that he attaches to a series of hooks attached to ropes hanging from the various ceiling panels.  Jared watches in awe as he pulls himself along the ceiling and right over top of the laser field like a cross between a mountain climber, Tarzan, and Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible.” Jared has to grudgingly admit that Chris is way cooler than him and Kat chose her best friend really well.

Finally, Chris pushes the button that disconnects it from the circuit. With a wink at the gang he urges them forward and up to the next level.

Sitting at a panel of security cameras is the huge, bald henchman that took Kat. Gen turns around to them and smirks “I got this one, fellas.”

Jared looks incredulously at Jensen. They didn’t explain this part of the plan to him. “Gen is like four feet tall. How the fuck is she going to deal with Giganto over there?”

“Gen is a 227-year-old vampire,” Misha states simply with a nod. He pauses, looking at his girlfriend with lusty abandon. “And fucking awesome.”

Jared’s eyeballs almost fall out of the sockets and he glares at Jensen who just laughs nervously. “Um, I forgot to tell you that one, huh? Well, too much information at one time is never a good thing.”

“Hey big boy, remember me?” Gen calls out to the bodyguard, who turns around with a startled expression. When he sees who the voice belongs to a dangerous looking leer takes over. His tiny moustache twitches in his face and Jared is suddenly terrified for Gen, vampire or (oh god, _what the fuck?)_ not.

“What do we have here?” the bodyguard sneers, standing up to his full height and lurching towards her.

“You fucked with the wrong family, you fat fuck,” she smirks half a second before literally flying at him and landing a sharp kick right to the middle of his chest.

He grunts and stumbles backwards, but recovers relatively quickly. “You dumb bitch!”

“Watch who you’re calling a bitch,” Gen snarls and pounces on him. Her suddenly sharp nails cut into the side of his head and it disorients him just enough for him to fall backwards.

Gen wastes no time in jumping onto his chest and landing several vicious blows straight to his jaw, knocking him out cold.

Complete silence overtakes the room . Gen turns back to them, blood covering her fingers and Jared stares at her in horror.

“Oh my god, is she going to drink his blood?” Jared mutters to no one in particular.

“God no, my woman’s not a cheater,” Misha hisses at him and sure enough Gen is wiping her hands off on the bodyguard’s shirt and grimacing at him.

“Well, _that_ happened,” she rolls her eyes as Misha lifts her up like she weighs nothing and smashes her against the front of his HAZMAT suit.

“Jen, Jared, look!” Chris exclaims, pointing up at one of the security monitors, which has a clear picture of the inside of the room where Kat is being held. She’s hooked to some kind of machine and Sebastian Roché is standing nonchalantly a few feet away.

“Goddamn bastard, I’m gonna kill the sonofabitch!” Jared grits out, pounding his fist on the console.

“Me and Chris are gonna go figure out what room they’re in,” Danneel announces, grabbing Chris and running down the hallway.

Misha pushes Jared aside and manages to get audio so they can hear what Roché is saying.

“I followed your mother for a long time, Katherine. Once I found her working in that dinky little office, I knew that she would be perfect. Her power was so pure, so untapped. Poor little Sandra, just wanted to be normal,” Roché is purring to Kat on the video screen.

Jared looks at the others frantically, but they look just as confused as him.

Roché moves a little closer and bends down. “But in the end she was weak, your mother. She tried to use those powers on me, but she didn’t know who she was dealing with. She thought she could beat me with her mind, but mine was stronger. It made her brain pop, Katherine, just like yours is going to pop if you try and fight it.”

Jared gasps at the screen. Sandy had powers? She knew all this time? Oh god, was everyone lying to him?

“How could she lie to me all that time,” Jared chokes out.

“Sometimes you get scared that the people you love won’t love you anymore if they know who you really are,” Jensen says quietly, his eyes so sad it’s like he’s drowning.

“Don’t you think the people who love you should get to decide that for themselves?” Jared spits out and he’s almost thankful when Roché starts talking again.

Roché tips his head almost wistfully. “I waited for you as long as I could. Made your grandparents fight for custody to get you and it was almost obscene how easy they were to manipulate. I don’t like the ones like that, Katherine, I like a little bit of struggle.”

“Mind control?” Jensen says in awe, staring at Jared, who is momentarily incapable of speech.

Roché continues on screen. “I thought for sure that the house full of freaks that you were living with would trigger you, but no, you refused to manifest. But a lock of mommy’s hair and a little bit of spellwork was all it took, right, darling? One little touch and the whole room went a-flying.”

Jared feels like he is going to be sick and Jensen must guess it because he places his hand firmly on his forearm. Jared stares down at it, realizing now exactly what that calming influence was. Jensen quite literally has magical hands. Jared tears his eyes away from where it’s rested, but doesn’t pull away. He’ll take any comfort he can get at the moment.

Roché is closer to Kat now, too close. They have to strain to hear what he whispers. “I’m going to use your mind to fuel mine, Katherine. Together we’re going to be a great team.”

Suddenly a spark goes off above their heads and all the monitors go off.

“Over here!” Chris shouts from somewhere down the corridor. “We found the room!”

Jared’s never run so fast in his life.

 

 **++++++**

Jensen can barely believe what they just heard come out of Roché’s mouth on the monitors. He thinks about his parents, wonders if they knew about people like Roché using other people’s powers to fuel their own.  He thinks back to how they died and starts to wonder. He knows that they sacrificed their lives to heal a group of kids who were dying, but now he starts to wonder just how those kids came to be so gravely injured in the first place. He’s starting to think that only people with powers would require enough of his parents’ life force to actually kill them.

He brushes off the past as Danneel touches the security keypad and sees the code it takes to open the door, allowing them to burst into the room. A burst of light envelops them and he does his best to shield his eyes from the glare. It dies down just enough for him to see Sebastian Roché on his knees in front of Kat in agony, bleeding out of his ears and screaming. Her teeth are grinding together and her gaze is laser-focused on him as she uses everything inside of herself to fight back. He’s never been prouder of a person in his life and if they live through this he’s going to make sure she knows it.

“Jared, stay back!” Jensen yells, as Jared makes to go to her. “You’ll make it worse! “

It seems like years but is probably only seconds when Roché collapses to the floor and Kat’s eyes roll back in her head.

Jensen pushes Jared back and yells “let me save her!” as he rushes to unhook her from the machine. He lays her gently down and feels for a pulse, but there is none. There’s blood coming out of her nose and her ears and he can hear Jared sobbing behind him.

Jensen closes his eyes and tunes out all of the noise in the room. With a deep breath, he places both of his hands directly over her heart. Electrical current rushes directly into his veins and he gasps, but doesn’t let go. He’ll give his life for her, if he has to, happily and without pause. Then Jared will know that he loves him and never meant to hurt him. All of his life Jensen’s been alone, but now in this moment, with his hands pressed to this little girl’s heart, he is more connected then any time he’s ever known.

The rushing in his ears drowns out the voices screaming in the background as he finally slumps to the ground and hopes that he did enough.

The sounds come at him like through a wind tunnel.

Chris yelling at him to fight.

Jared’s voice, telling him he loves him. Maybe Jensen’s already dead. Maybe this is heaven.

Kat’s voice breaks through then and if he was conscious of his body he would start to cry, because she’s alive and Jared will never be alone like him.

It’s enough now. Jensen’s done enough.

His heart stops beating.

 

 **++++++**

 “He always thought I was crazy,” Chris says, his voice lower than usual.  He’s sitting next to Jensen’s hospital bed, one elbow propped up on the railing raised up on one side.

Jared looks up at him. They haven’t spoken in a while, just sitting there as silent as Jensen.

Chris continues as he traces a hand over Jensen’s forearm. “He used to tell me how lucky I was that I was normal. “

“Man, I hate that fucking word,” Jared mumbles, resting his hand on the bed next to Jensen’s other side but not touching him.

Chris lets out a short, sharp laugh. “Yeah, me too.” There is a pregnant pause before he continues. “He was so caught up on how much of a freak he was that he couldn’t understand that there were people out there that didn’t want to be like everyone else. “

Jared’s face falls and his mouth twists into a miserable grimace. “I didn’t mean what I said, about him being a freak. It all just happened so fast—“

Chris cuts him off. “I know, Jared. He knows it too, deep down underneath all the other shit that he keeps inside. “

Chris reaches into his pocket then and pulls out his wallet. He flips through a few things before pulling out a battered photograph. He hands it wordlessly to Jared, who takes it and looks at it. It’s a picture of a teenage Chris and Jensen standing next to what looks like a lake in swim trunks. Chris’ face bright and clear of any ink or metal and his smile twisting up into his trademark smirk. He would be barely recognizable if it wasn’t for that smirk. Jensen’s hair is blonder, his lips somehow lusher, body thin and wiry, and there are no lines around his eyes. He’s stupidly beautiful, but there’s something in his face that makes Jared suddenly sad.  Jensen is turned slightly towards Chris, not looking at the camera, and the expression on his face is a mixture of apprehension and awe. It’s like he can’t believe that he’s there in that moment, allowed to do something as simple as swim in the lake with his friend. Allowed to actually _have_ a friend. Allowed to be happy.

The silence stretches out for a while as Chris lets Jared take in the picture before speaking again. “He doesn’t know I carry that and would probably kick my ass if he did.”

  
 Chris snorts and Jared laughs because the familiarity of it is somehow comforting in this moment as they sit together next to Jensen’s comatose body.

Chris takes the photograph back from Jared and looks at it briefly before putting it back in his wallet and away from view. “I carry that because I like to remind myself where we began. Jensen’s always gonna be messed up a little, but he’s come a long way from the boy in that picture. “

Chris closes his eyes then, like he can feel the breeze from the lake washing over him. Jared closes his too and tries to imagine it.

 “I told him what I wanted to do later that day, the plans for my metal work, showed him some designs for my face. You should have seen how angry he got! Fucking picked up my alarm clock and threw it against the wall. I think the only reason he didn’t punch me in my face was because he thought he’d get shoved back to Child Services.”

“Why was he so mad?” Jared asks, even though he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

Chris looks at Jensen’s placid face, tubes everywhere, and smiles sadly. “He told me I was selfish for wanting to make myself a freak. That I didn’t understand what it was like to live with being so different.”

“What did you tell him?”

Chris shrugs.  “I told him that it’s what makes us different that makes us important. That life is pointless if we don’t embrace all that we were meant to be.”

“Pretty wise for a teenage boy, huh?” Jared smiles slightly.

“Yeah, that’s what he said, after he stopped bawling. Fucking child,” Chris laughs softly before shooting Jared a look. “And don’t you dare tell him I told you that because he has no reason to _not_ punch me in the face now. “

Silence lingers again, sitting there between him as surely as Jensen’s body is. Chris is again the one to break it.

 “We’re gonna help Kat figure out her powers. We’re a weird little family, but there isn’t a better group of people you could be with to help her learn what she’s capable of,” Chris says softly, his eyes willing Jared to understand.

Jared remembers the conversation he had with the McCoys the day before. He demanded to know whether they knew about Sandy and after only a moment they crumbled and admitted they did. It seems they had always tried to respect Sandy’s wishes and let her live her life in the most normal way possible. When she died they worried about Kat’s possible manifestation and how a clueless Jared would deal with that, but it wasn’t until Roché had come to them and twisted their concern that they thought about suing for custody. Now though, with Roché out of the way, they realize how hurtful it would be to take Kat away from her father.

Jared tries to understand. He knows there are things about the world that he never even fathomed, but he also knows that his child is part of that world now. The McCoys offer to help Kat deal with her abilities, and Jared finds himself accepting their offer gratefully.

“Thanks, Chris. Just, thank you,” Jared says.  They’re silent again for a moment until suddenly Jared looks up, worry etched in his face.

“Roché’s body. What happened to it? Can they trace it back to Kat?” He can’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before, but with everything that had gone on it was the least of his concern.

Chris smirks. “Don’t you worry about that. I believe the front page of the Post is going to have a pretty interesting story about that fancy Manhattan lawyer found OD’ed in his bedroom. Nasty drug, cocaine. ”

Jared mouth dropped open. “How the hell is that going to happen?”

  
Chris cocks an eyebrow. “Do you really think a 227-year-old vampire gets to be that age without making a few shady connections?”

“Oh. _Oh_ ,” Jared says dumbly. “That’s….highly unethical.”

Chris laughs softly. “That’s our Genevieve.”

Jared laughs with him but then looks back at Jensen and sobers. “Do you really think he’s going to be alright?”

Chris reaches over to squeeze Jensen’s unresponsive hand. “His body knows what it needs to do, even if his brain is always a little slower to catch up with the plan.”

“I can’t lose him, not now, not after everything he’s done for me and Kat.” Jared’s voice aches.

“Do you love him?” Chris asks, and his face holds no judgment.

Jared just nods because saying the words out loud here in the room where Jensen lies unconscious and unhearing is just too much grief for him to handle.

“Good, he deserves it,” Chris replies, leaning over to stroke Jensen’s hair. He looks up at Jared. “You do too, you know. Deserve it.”

Jared blinks away the tears in his eyes and nods again.

 **++++++**

Jensen wakes up one week later. Kat is curled up in the bed next to him, her hand on his heart.

 

 

 **  
Epilogue—One Month Later   
**

Jared presses his face against Jensen’s thigh, letting the warmth of his skin soak into him. His lips trail their way across smooth flesh, nose brushing hard cock before his tongue follows, licking a stripe from root to tip. Jensen sighs as Jared teases him, twirling around the crown, sinking down a few inches before pulling back up. Jensen arches into him every time and Jared repeats it just to feel the acknowledgment of how badly he wants it.

It’s been a month since Jensen almost died saving his daughter’s life. First came the week of Jensen’s coma as his tired organs used every molecule of their magic to knit themselves back together. Then two weeks of long nights bundled up with each other, Jared using his long limbs to hold Jensen tight to his body, to his heart. Two weeks of Danneel’s gumbo and Chad’s latest marketing scheme, of watching Chris help Kat navigate the snow while chasing after Harley and Sadie, of snuggling on the microfiber couch while watching CSI reruns as Misha and Gen did the same on the matching recliner. Two weeks of being a family.

And then the past week. Well, the past week has been about sheer unadulterated fucking. In every possible permutation.

Jared loves all of it. Loves the way Jensen’s lips swell after being well-kissed until they look almost painful. Loves pressing his face into Jensen’s pelvic bone and breathing in his scent. Loves opening Jensen up with his tongue until it feels like he can’t get any farther in before adding his fingers, one, two, three, four, and licking in between them. Loves the little sounds Jensen makes when Jared bites right between his shoulder blades while fucking him. Loves the way Jensen grits his teeth and flutters his eyes open and then closed when he’s grinding down on Jared’s lap. Loves the way Jensen laughed and whispered “aren’t you lucky your boyfriend has magical hands” as he smoothed them down Jared’s backside to reduce the sting the first time he pushed into him.

Jared just loves Jensen.

Jared’s speed increases as Jensen presses his thighs around his head. He feels the tip of Jensen’s cock press the back of his throat, his nose buried in pubes, tears stinging his eyes, and can’t remember ever feeling such ridiculous pleasure. Jensen’s fingers tug at Jared’s too long hair and Jared can feel his balls tighten against his chin.

“Daddy!” Kat’s voice rings out loudly from the hallway. Jensen shrieks and comes unexpectedly down Jared’s throat as Jared starts coughing.

Jensen pulls a pillow over his face and groans as Jared’s coughing turns to laughter. “Yes, Kit-Kat?” he hollers back.

“My Best Friend Christian Kane says to tell you to stop kissing The Prettiest Warlock and come to the living room. Tommy’s on the phone!” Kat sing-songs and knocks on the locked door a few times for emphasis.

“The Prettiest Warlock, huh?” Jared grins gleefully, pulling himself up to lie next to Jensen. He starts rubbing leftover come over Jensen’s lips as he scowls.

“No way Chris said that. Remind me to kill Misha the next time I see him,” Jensen grumbles, sucking Jared’s ring finger all the way to the second knuckle.

“Tell your Best Friend Christian Kane we’ll be there in a sec!” Jared yells and waits to hear the pitter patter of feet running down the hallway before pulling down Jensen’s jaw and forcing his tongue inside. He feeds Jensen his own come until there’s nothing left to taste.

“If you don’t stop that we’ll never get out of this bed,” Jensen murmurs, licking a path from Jared’s collarbone to the bottom of his ear.

“Kat wouldn’t even notice. She has her Best Friend Christian Kane to take care of her,” Jared grins, pulling Jensen’s head back by his hair to bite his swollen bottom lip.

“But then Misha would have free reign to turn her into a sarcastic nudist agoraphobic like himself. We can’t let the terrorists win, Jared,” Jensen huffs, but it comes out muffled because Jared is intent on licking the enamel off his teeth.

“As long as no one uses her as a human sacrifice, remember?” Jared grins, palming Jensen’s suddenly interested again dick before hopping out of bed.

Jensen groans and presses down his erection. “You’re evil.”

“Nah, too much hair,” Jared smirks, pulling on his drawstring pajama bottoms.

Jensen rolls his eyes but follows suit. They stroll over to the living room, stopping in the kitchen first to get Jensen his caffeinated lifeblood. He sees Misha sitting in his recliner and grabs a pillow to toss at his head.

“Such violence, Young Ackles!” Misha protests with his best wounded voice.

“You know what that’s for!” Jensen attempts to snarl but without at least two cups of coffee and after that mindblowing orgasm, it’s futile.

“Jensen, watch this!” Kat squeals from her place firmly on Chris’ lap. She squints her eyes in concentration and the same pillow Jensen just threw levitates in the air and projectiles right back into a startled Misha’s face.

“What the—“ Misha grunts as Kat giggles and high-fives Chris.

“You have the most awesome child,” Jensen grins widely, pulling Jared down and kissing him with a loud smack.

“I know, right?” Jared laughs, blowing a kiss at his daughter and laughing when Danneel pretends to intercept it. Kat feigns shock but then starts giggling again and presses a kiss into Danneel’s cheek.

“Ruffians, all of you!” Misha tsks, smoothing down the kilt that he has decided to dress himself in this morning.

“You must admit the aim was perfect,” Gen points out, and shuts up his outraged response with a kiss.

“Guys! Hellooooo, I’m still here!” the disembodied voice of Tom Welling comes from the speakerphone on the coffee table.

“We were waiting for the Js,” Chris tells him, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t you mean The Father of the _Formerly_ Adorable Katherine Padalecki and The Prettiest Albeit Meanest Warlock?” Misha corrects and braces for another magic pillow attack.

“I’m not a warlock!” Jensen hollers at the same time Tom says “Jensen’s not a warlock.”

“Thank you, Tommy,” Jensen sniffs, sipping his coffee and pouting his lips so much that Jared has to resist leaning over and biting them.

“Who’s a warlock?” another, unfamiliar male voice inquires from the speakerphone and all the roommates suddenly look at each other in surprise.

“No one, baby, don’t pay attention to them,” Tom coos and the eyes of the room widen.

“Baby?” Chris mouths at Jensen, who just shrugs.

“I take it you have something you want to tell us,” Danneel prompts.

“Oh Danni, the most wonderful thing happened!” Tom bursts.

“They renewed Vampire Diaries?” Gen breathes excitedly as Misha uses the killer pillow to manually smack her on the head.

“I found my super-villain!” Tom replies in what can only be construed as a squeal.

“That’s me!” the other voice hollers, and then there is the conspicuously wet sound of making out.

“Tom, focus!” Jensen demands. “What are you talking about?”

They can hear Tom pulling away from the mystery man’s mouth breathlessly. “There was this barn!”

“A barn?” Chris repeats, eyebrow lifted.

“Yes, a barn! It was a New Years Eve party and it was decorated like an Ice Palace. And I’m standing there and thinking to myself that I would never, ever find The One and I would be alone and villainless my whole sad pathetic intergalactic life, but then I saw HIM. He was just standing there in the corner all anti-social like and it made me gasp because I totally felt it, you know? It was like I just _knew_ and I went over to him and said to him ‘will you shave your head’ and he looked at me and was like ‘do you have a razor on you right now’ and I said ‘of course I do!’ and then he DID and then we went back to my house and had sex like twenty times and we are in love and life is MAGICAL, guys.”

The room is completely silent as they take in Tom’s monologue.

“He shaved his head for me, guys,” Tom repeats, his voice still a little stunned.

“Of course I did, have you _seen_ you, dude? I’d shave my balls for you!” the super-villain crows and that breaks the silence immediately. Jared looks over frantically at Kat, whose ears are being covered by Chris as he laughs hysterically into the top of her head.

After a minute everyone calms down and Jensen replies warmly, “That’s great man, that’s really great. What’s your name, mystery man?”

“Mike Rosenbaum, nice to meet you all, kind of. I’ve heard…um…a lot about you,” Tom’s super-villain replies, voice unsteady for just a second before the kissing noises start up again. Jared assumes these are distraction kisses this time.

“I bet,” Jensen mumbles as Jared stifles a laugh and rubs his nose over his stubbly cheek.

“So,” Tom starts, pulling away again and managing to sound a bit sheepish. “I’ve been a horrible friend! I haven’t called you guys in forever.”

“No reception in the barn,” Mike offers and Chris snorts.

“It’s been, what, over a month since the last time we talked, right?” Tom inquires casually. “So how was your Christmas?”

“You really don’t want to know,” Kat deadpans as the entire room bursts out laughing.

 **THE END**

 

 **ETA:** Adding some of the **SFW** artwork done by **reliand** since LJ is still down! Lots more in the **masterpost** including the **NSFW** stuff :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Masterpost here: http://tebtosca.livejournal.com/18464.html
> 
> Don't forget to check out the AMAZING art by reliand! (if LJ ever decides to work again LOL)


End file.
